


Flowertown Essentials

by SeoLovelyz



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Drabbles, F/M, Flowertown - Freeform, Fluff, I'm just soft for this ship, cheesy romance shit, doing that abc prompt format from like 2010, i should probably be studying, oneshots, why am I still stuck on this game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-11-07 01:20:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 35,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17950910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeoLovelyz/pseuds/SeoLovelyz
Summary: One-shots about the developing relationship between a pink-haired wallflower and a lovestruck rapper





	1. Almost

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so I've been super stuck on this ship and just really wanted to write about it. I decided to do that abc prompt thing where each chapter starts with the next letter of the alphabet because why not?  
> Also, all of the chapters in this story will be one-shots, but they'll also be interrelated. So like the events of the first chapter will have already occurred in the second chapter and so on and so forth. IDK if that makes any sense.
> 
> Do people even read these notes?

**Almost**

“I swear to God, Luke. If you don’t confess right now, I’m going to do it for you!” Ian practically shoved a sputtering Luke out the classroom door.

All the other students had already shuffled off to wherever they would procrastinate their homework, leaving the hallways barren of life. That is, except for a pink-haired girl switching out some books in her locker and a nervously sweating rapper standing only a few feet away from her. With how loudly he felt his heart beating, he was honestly surprised that Hana didn’t notice his presence. After an inaudible deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak.

“H-hey, Hana!” he said as casually as he could while leaning against one of the lockers.

The girl looked up, slightly startled, but her lips quickly curved into a smile as she saw her unexpected guest.

“Oh hey, Luke!” she responded, her eyes forming little crescents as she grinned, “what brings you here?”

“Oh I uh was just… wondering if you would be interested in…”

Luke wanted to smack himself, but despite his brain’s demands, his body couldn’t seem to follow.

_Just say it! Just ask if she’d want to go on a date! What the hell are you waiting for?_

Hana cocked her head to the side, “If I would be interested in…?”

All at once, Luke’s frozen state snapped back to reality and spit out the first thing he thought of, “Joining Hidden Block?!”

Silence. The hallway was drenched in nothing but silence, but all Luke could hear was the sound of his hopes and dreams shattering. How could he have messed up something so simple? What would Hana think about what he just said?

Time seemed to stop as he waited for Hana to say something. He watched her eyes blink a few times before she developed a response.

“You want me to join Hidden Block? Why?”

The rapper desperately tried to develop an excuse, “W-well, you’ve just been hanging out with Ian a lot, and we all really like you, and you seem really cool, so I thought you’d maybe want to consider joining us, but if you wanna keep trying to join Normal Boots that’s totally fine, and I’m sorry if I made you uncom-”

Hana placed a single finger on Luke’s lips to end his rambling. She giggled at his bewildered expression before removing it.

“I appreciate that, Luke. I’ll… think about it.”

She closed her locker, holding 2 textbooks in her arms.

“Th-that’s great! Just uh let me know if you have any questions or anything,” he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

“Thank you,” she said, giving Luke a quick wave goodbye before heading down the corridor to exit the building.

Luke waved back, but once she was out of sight, he banged his head against the nearest locker. He’d have a lot of explaining to do to the rest of Hidden Block, but honestly, he didn’t think they’d oppose the idea of Hana joining them. Of course, she’d have to actually agree to it first.

With his head hung low, Luke returned to the classroom. It was empty of students except for Ian who was playing a game on his phone while waiting for his roommate to return. Once he spotted the rapper, he sat up eagerly.

“So…” he said with a smirk, “did you ask her on a date?”

Luke shrugged and gave a shy smile, “Almost?”


	2. Because

**B** **ecause**

“Ta-da!”

Wallid stepped back, revealing Hana wearing her new, official Hidden Block jacket. All the boys erupted into cheers and applause, making her blush with embarrassment.

“It looks great on you, Hana!” Jeff exclaimed.

Everyone nodded in agreement as she twirled her hair with her finger, attempting to calm her nerves.

“Thanks guys, and thank you again for letting me into the club! I promise I won’t let you down!” she bowed deeply, hiding her red cheeks from view.

“Don’t worry about that,” said Jimmy, rubbing the top of her head, “we’re just happy to have you!”

Hana beamed at the Hidden Block boys, overcome with happiness.

“That jacket truly fits you like a glove,” Caddy commented.

“Yeah,” Luke agreed, “do you mind if I get a picture of you in it?”

Hana blushed an even deeper shade of red at the sight of Luke pulling out his phone to take a picture. She turned her head to the side and rubbed her arm.

“Wh-why do you want my picture?” she asked.

His brain processed what felt like a million responses.

_Because you look adorable._

_Because the jacket looks really good on you._

_Because you look super cute when you blush._

_Because I’m so happy you’re in my club now._

_Because I can’t wait to spend more time with you._

_Because I want to remember this moment forever._

_Because I have a massive crush on you._

The response that actually came out of his mouth was probably the lamest one of all.

“Just because.”


	3. Cute

**Cute**

She wasn’t sure what exactly made her want to change her look that day. As she was getting ready to head over to the Hidden Block club meeting, Hana glanced at the mirror and noticed her hair was frizzy. While she brushed it out, she spotted some of her hair ties sitting on the corner of the dresser, and that was how she ended up walking into the clubroom with pigtails adorning her bubblegum pink hair.

She was the first at the meeting, so she pulled out her notes and went back over what Ms. Shizuka taught that day. One by one, the boys filed in, every single one showering her with compliments.

“Your hair is really cute,” Caddy commented.

“You look super cute,” Jeff said with a charming grin.

“You’re so cute, Hana!” exclaimed Jimmy, engulfing her in a bear hug.

“Cute pigtails,” said Wallid as he gave her a pat on the head.

Even Ian gave her a small smile and muttered, “Cute.”

Perhaps it was odd for a girl her age to feel this way, but Hana really loved being called “cute.” It just made her feel good, and it was a little less generic than being called “pretty.”

The only member who didn’t say a word was Luke who walked in last. Although he came in with a bright and pure smile, he took one look at Hana and dropped it. His cheeks tinted pink, and he briskly sat down at his seat.

No one seemed to find his reaction odd, so the meeting continued as per usual. However, Hana had trouble paying attention as she continually glanced over at Luke, who was clearly avoiding eye contact with her. It wasn’t that she needed him to compliment her or anything, but for some reason, she really cared about his opinion. It made her insecure to think that he couldn’t even smile at her like this.

The meeting was adjourned rather quickly, and the boys dispersed to do whatever they wanted to do. Ian and Caddy were bickering over the best Nario Kart character while Wallid and Jeff were attempting to have a “thumb” war by using their big toes. Meanwhile, Jimmy was busy sitting in the corner with his 4DS open, attempting to hunt for his 17th shiny Nokemon. Hana sighed solemnly and began taking out her pigtails.

“Why are you changing your hair back?” asked the resident rapper who had moved to sit next to her.

Hana blushed, “N-no reason.”

Luke lifted one eyebrow, “Are you sure? You can tell me anything, you know?”

She gulped, “I-it just seemed like you didn’t really like my pigtails. I’m sorry if they bothered you.”

“What? Are you kidding? Why would you think that?” he looked truly flabbergasted by her statement.

“You looked away once you saw me, and you proceeded to not acknowledge me for the rest of the meeting,” she stuck out her lower lip into a pout.

Luke’s laughter filled Hana’s ears, and she felt her chest tighten at the melodic sound.

“You’ve got it all wrong, Hana!” he exclaimed while pinching her cheek.

She playfully shook her head to release his grip, but that only made him pinch both cheeks.

“The truth is…” he paused, rubbing his neck, “I actually liked your pigtails so much that I was afraid I would pay too much attention to you instead of the meeting, so I just tried to ignore you. I’m sorry for being weird.”

He smiled brightly once again and rubbed her head, “I think you look adorable.”

It was at that moment Hana discovered there was indeed a word she liked being called more than “cute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the best writer, so please go easy on me haha. Anyhow, I'm hoping to post chapters in sets of 3 since I want them to be on the shorter side, but we'll see how things go. ^^


	4. Dare

**Dare**

“OK, Hana,” Ian leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, “Truth or Dare?”

With an awkward smile, she responded, “Truth?”

Half the room groaned.

“Come on, you said truth the last 3 times you were asked,” Caddy said, clearly agitated.

Hana sighed. She didn’t want to play Truth or Dare in the first place, but she somehow got roped into it during the Hidden Block meeting that day. When she played the game as a kid and picked dare for the first time, she ended up having to stick a kid’s sock in her mouth. The kid had athlete’s foot. Needless to say, the event scarred her for life.

“I don’t want to pick dare and end up doing something disgusting,” she retaliated, shivering at the thought of her past.

“Come on, I’m not that insane,” Ian defended.

“I literally just watched you dare poor Wallid to swallow an entire bottle’s worth of glue,” she fought back, gesturing towards the young boy who had his face planted onto his desk with his arms clutching his stomach.

Ian rolled his eyes, “Don’t you trust me, Hana?”

She paused. Out of all the boys in Hidden Block, she was definitely closest to Ian; however, that meant she had seen many sides of him. She had seen him do surprisingly nice things as well as surprisingly mean things, but to be fair, he only ever did nice things to her.

“Fine, I pick dare,” she said, making everyone in the room perk up excitedly.

“OK, let’s see…” Ian tapped his chin as he glanced around the room, looking for some sort of inspiration. That’s when his eyes landed on his roommate, who blinked once Ian’s eyes met his own.

With a mischievous grin, Ian set his plan into motion, “I dare you to kiss Luke.”

A few snickers and “ooohs” floated around the room as all eyes darted to the furiously blushing Hana and pale-as-a-ghost Luke. They both slowly looked at one another but quickly turned their heads away once they made eye contact. Luke sent a death glare towards Ian who was clearly amused at the awkward teens.

“What’s taking so long, huh?” teased Jeff, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!”

Everyone else joined in on the chant. As much as Luke wanted to kiss Hana, he didn’t want it to be like this, not by force or as some sort of joke.

“Guys, this really isn’t-”

His words were cut off by the feeling of warm lips on his cheek, but the warmth left as quickly as it came. Everyone clapped and chuckled. Hana was now staring at her lap, cheeks as red as ever.

“You didn’t say where I had to kiss him,” she said with a slight shrug.

Ian grinned, “Fair enough.”

The pink-haired girl felt like everyone was smirking at her, which made her increasingly uncomfortable. Unbeknownst to Hana, they were actually looking at the awestruck rapper. He hadn’t moved since she kissed his cheek.

Once the tension mounted for a couple seconds, Hana finally spoke up, “A-anyways, it’s my turn, right? Uh, Jimmy! Truth or Dare?”


	5. Experiment

**Experiment**

“OK, so now we just need to add the sodium hydroxide.”

Luke nodded and carefully added a few drops to the mixture. The liquid slowly evolved into a bright red color. Hana clapped her hands and did little hops in place.

“I think we did it!” she exclaimed, giddy over their hard work.

Luke smiled at her as he stirred the mixture with a wooden stick. Ms. Shizuka had assigned the class to create something that could be used for stealth operations or secret missions in order to study those aspects in games. Once she announced that the class could pick their own partners, he made no hesitation to race over to the pink-haired girl’s side. He even managed to beat PBG who also had his eyes on the same partner. As he watched PBG return to his original spot with his head hung low, Luke began to feel uneasy.

He knew PBG had a crush on Hana. It had become increasingly obvious over time, considering how he kept staring at her longingly during class or lunch. If anything, his stares only increased in frequency once she joined Hidden Block. Hana didn’t seem to notice, which was Luke’s only relief. If the rapper wanted to win her heart before the soccer star did, he’d need to act fast, but he kept chickening out. It was like every time he tried to just spit it out, he would freeze and have to say something else. He figured Hana probably thought he was a total weirdo at this point. Anyhow, now they were here together making some invisible ink for a class project. He was honestly just thankful to have an excuse to spend time with her.

“Now we just need to test it,” Hana said as she grabbed the paint brush from beside the beaker.

Just as she dipped it into the solution, Luke suddenly grabbed her wrist. She looked up at him in shock.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, could I be the one to test it out?” he asked hesitantly.

“Oh sure, of course, Luke,” she said with a relieved sigh as she passed the brush to him.

He nodded in thanks and turned the other way to begin writing. Hana instinctually began to lean over his shoulder but then immediately pulled away. Seeing what he was writing would defeat the purpose since she was probably supposed to read the secret words once he was done. Instead, she opted for looking around the room.

Yup, those are certainly desks. And windows. And a door. Interesting.

After just a couple seconds, she returned her eyes to her partner as he was still writing. She could only see the back of his head but still couldn’t stop staring. There was something about Luke that always made her feel warm and fuzzy. She didn’t quite understand what it was, so she decided to just enjoy his presence whenever she could. She was secretly glad that he wanted to be her partner for the project, even though he claimed it was just because she was smart.

“Done,” he said in an odd tone of voice.

He sounded relieved but also… worried?

Luke handed the piece of paper to Hana, who was perplexed by the sudden shakiness of his hands.

“Thanks,” she smiled at him, naturally attempting to calm whatever was making him nervous.

Hana flattened the paper back onto the desk and picked up another paint brush to dip it into the “revealing” solution. She stroked the page left and right seamlessly from top to bottom, careful not to press down too hard and rip the paper.

About a quarter down the page, one word was clearly visible.

_Hana,_

She tilted her head to the side. Did he write her a message? With her curiosity piqued, she stroked the page faster to reveal the rest. Once the content of the note was in full view, her eyes were glued to it.

_Hana,_

_will you_

_go out_

_with me?_

After a few moments of silence, Luke felt himself beginning to sweat. She wasn’t responding. Did he screw up? Hana shook him out of his thoughts by suddenly whipping her head around to look at him. He jumped back a bit, startled, and immediately started blushing after the initial shock.

She scanned his expression, attempting to see if this was some sort of prank. Once she deduced that he was serious about the note, she turned her head to the side and began playing with her hair. Go out? With Luke? She felt her body temperature rise.

Meanwhile, the rapper’s heart was nearly about to explode with anticipation. Why did she just stare at him without saying anything? Did he just ruin their friendship? Is she never gonna talk to him again? Oh God, can she please just say something? Anything?

Hana, once again, interrupted his whirlwind of thoughts by grabbing another piece of paper and the brush with the disappearing ink. Luke watched the back of her head as she wrote, internally attempting to steady his heart.

After what felt like a millennium, she turned back around and handed him the paper. Although his mind was screaming for him to just dump the revealing solution onto it, his body slowly reached for the proper brush and began unveiling the message. Once it was revealed, Luke felt like he was going to faint.

_I would_

_love to_

_go out_

_with you_

He turned to look at the girl beside him. She was attempting to hide her red face with a lock of her hair but was failing miserably. Overcome with joy, Luke wrapped his arms around Hana and squeezed her tightly. He felt all of his anxieties wash away as she giggled into his shoulder and returned the embrace.

For once, a school project made him want to cry tears of joy instead of sorrow.


	6. Flowers

**Flowers**

“Ta-da!”

Luke proudly held open the door to Asagao’s rooftop, and Hana looked in awe at the scenery. There was a beautiful view of campus and the glowing blue sky adorned with wispy white clouds, not to mention the handsome boy showing it all off to her.

“It’s so beautiful!” she exclaimed, skipping over to the edge, “I had no idea we even had a rooftop like this!”

“I know!” Luke matched her enthusiasm, “A lot of people don’t know about it, but it’s one of my favorite spots to chill and listen to some tunes.”

He walked over to stand next to Hana as she closed her eyes and let the breeze caress her face. The sun was shining brightly, warming her skin. Meanwhile, Luke hesitantly reached his hand over to hold hers. Once he grabbed a couple of her fingers, she turned to look at him.

He froze, cheeks aflame. The pink-haired girl giggled and grabbed the rest of his hand, her cheeks slowly beginning to match his. The young couple smiled and continued looking off into the distance.

Luke had wracked his brain for days for the perfect place to take Hana on their first date. He wanted it to be personal: somewhere they could just talk and be alone, without having to worry about anything else. The day before they had agreed to go out together, he was lying down on the rooftop with some earbuds in, attempting to formulate an idea, when it hit him like a truck. The perfect place had been one of his usual go-to spots all along!

However, now that it was actually happening, he almost felt like it was _too_ perfect. Although the scenery was beautiful, the once calming serenity of the rooftop was suddenly suffocating. He didn’t have music to block out the world around him and had to actually think of some way to keep conversation going. His eyes shifted to Hana, and his heart swelled at the sight of her gentle smile slightly obscured by strands of her pink hair as it swayed in the wind. She brushed the hair behind her ear as she turned to look at him. At that moment, Luke truly believed she was the definition of beauty.

“Thank you for showing me this place. It’s really lovely,” she spoke in a soothing tone that made Luke’s nerves calm down a bit.

“No problem at all!” he responded, “I’m more than happy to show you one of my favorite hang-out spots.”

“I guess I’ll have to come here more often then,” she said before giving a looking of realization, “i-if that’s OK with you. I don’t want to get in the way of your chill time.”

Luke desperately wanted to squeal with excitement but managed to restrain himself.

“Of course! There’s no one else I’d rather spend time with.”

Hana giggled as her face took on its tomato red form. How was he so charming and sweet without even realizing it?

In a fit of embarrassment, she looked towards the other side of the rooftop and noticed pots of flowers.

“Oh wow, they have a little garden up here!” she exclaimed, walking over to the various daisies, asagaos, roses, and daffodils.

Luke watched her movements curiously as she stroked one of the flower’s petals.

“It seems like no one is really taking care of them though…” she said sadly, “or if they are, they’re not doing a very good job.”

“I didn’t know you liked flowers so much,” the boy commented, wishing he knew literally anything about the subject.

Hana shrugged, “It’s more of a learned interest. My mom loved flowers, so she kind of passed that on to me. My name actually means ‘flower’ in Japanese.”

“Wow, that’s really cool,” Luke was ecstatic to be learning something new about her, “Does your mom have a garden back at home?”

“She did…” Hana bit her lip, “until she passed away.”

Nice one, Sizemore. Your only job was to not fuck this up.

He instantly became fraught with anxiety, “Oh my god, Hana, I am so so so sorry.”

“No, it’s OK,” she assured him with a cheerful smile, “It’s actually rather nice to talk about her. I haven’t talked about her with anyone in such a long time…”

Her voice trailed off as she stared at one of the wilting daffodils, and Luke was petrified. Even though she tried to comfort him, he couldn’t help but feel that he had made a huge mistake.

“D-do you have a favorite flower?” he asked, shaking her from her trance.

“Um, probably irises,” she responded, “I’ve always liked their color and shape.”

She grinned at the rapper, “What about you?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, “I honestly don’t know much about flowers, so I don’t think I can answer that.”

“Oh, that’s alright,” she said, happily gesturing towards the flower pots, “how about you just tell me which of these flowers you think is the prettiest?”

His eyes scanned the various flowers until they landed back on the girl beside him.

Struck with a sudden burst of confidence, he stepped forward and planted a soft kiss on Hana’s forehead.

As he pulled away, he whispered, “This one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really wanting to write lately, so here is another set of chapters! It'll probably be a while until I can post again because I've got some big exams coming up. Wish me luck! ^^


	7. Girlfriend

**Girlfriend**

“You think you can just come into MY room and disrespect me like this?”

Hana released a hearty laugh as Ian gave her a kick in the leg. They were both laying down on top of Ian’s bed, playing a couple rounds of Dumbidoom’s Revenge, and Hana had already beaten him 3 times in a row.

She stuck her tongue out, “Are you mad that I’m good at the game or that you’re bad at it?”

“Wow, OK, that’s it, Mizuno.”

Ian took the pink-haired girl into a headlock and roughly rubbed the top of her head. She made a playful squeal into his arm, attempting to release herself from his grip. Once he let go, she gave him an angry pout.

He snorted, “You look like a troll.”

“And whose fault is that?” she retorted as she patted her hair back into place.

“Mind if I get a bottle of water? All that winning made me thirsty,” she teased, not letting go of the battle for dominance.

“You know what? Just because you said that. No.” Ian smirked, also refusing to back down.

“Awww, come on,” Hana stuck out her lower lip, “please?”

The moose rolled his eyes. Although he hated giving in, he had a soft spot for Hana. Not that he would ever admit it.

“Fine, whatever, but grab me one too,” he said with scoff.

Hana grinned from ear to ear, knowing fully well that Ian wasn’t really mad. Needless to say, Hana and Ian had become very close during her time at Asagao. Before long, they realized just how much they had in common. They were both always considered “outsiders” and preferred to keep to themselves most of the time. Hana was one of the few who actually attempted to learn more about Ian and adapt to his quirks. Most people just thought he was weird or scary and would never give him the time of day. For Hana, Ian was a breath of fresh air. She hated how most people were deceiving and fake, but Ian was straight-forward. Although she couldn’t always tell what he was thinking, she knew he would never sugarcoat his words and always tell her his honest opinion, even when it stung. She felt comfortable talking to him about anything, even if that entailed enduring his infamous sarcastic remarks.

As Hana headed over to his mini-fridge, Ian got a text notification on his phone.

 **_Luke:_ ** _Did you ask her yet?_

His eyes widened, recalling the events of that morning.

_…_

_Luke burst through the door, making Ian jump in his desk chair. He was working on a homework assignment and skidded his pen across the paper when his roommate startled him._

_“Dude, something just occurred to me,” the rapper said anxiously, grabbing Ian’s shoulders._

_He grimaced, “Is it that you just ruined my paper and now I’m gonna have to rewrite it?”_

_Luke took his hands back, “Sorry, man. I really didn’t mean to.”_

_With a sigh, Ian rubbed his temples before looking back at the frantic boy._

_“It’s whatever. What’s the problem?”_

_He still felt guilty but decided it was best to go back to what he wanted to say, “Is Hana my girlfriend?”_

_Ian raised an eyebrow._

_“Is this like a trick question or…?”_

_“No,” Luke exasperatedly plopped onto his bed, “I mean, I never explicitly asked her to be my girlfriend. I just asked if she’d go out with me. What if she thought it was just for one date? What if I totally ruined the date, and now she doesn’t want to be my girlfriend? You know what I mean?”_

_Ian put his face in his hands. His best friend could be such an idiot sometimes._

_“Has Hana done literally anything to make you think that she doesn’t like you?”_

_“Well...no,” the rapper pouted, “but she’s just nice like that, you know?”_

_With his signature eye roll, Ian responded, “Hana and I are supposed to hang out later today. If it’ll make you feel better, I can try to see what she thinks.”_

_Luke’s eyes practically glittered at the suggestion, “You’re the best, dude!”_

_…_

Hana returned to Ian’s bedside with 2 water bottles in hand. She tossed one over to him as she took a seat in his desk chair.

He caught the bottle with ease, “So how did your date with Luke go?”

After taking a quick swig of water, Hana blushed and twirled her hair with her finger, “It was… really nice.”

Ian gave a small smile. He knew Luke was worrying over nothing like an idiot.

“So would you consider yourself to be his girlfriend?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Yeah?” Hana looked confused, “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

A short silence followed until her eyes widened in panic.

“D-does he not see me as his girlfriend? Does he go out with girls often? Did he figure out he doesn’t like me?”

Ian internally chuckled.

Nevermind, they were both idiots.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, this is more of a Hana x Ian chapter than Hana x Luke, but I think their friendship is cute, OK?   
> Speaking of which, I've been watching a lot of BrutalMoose lately, and like why is Ian not one of the top Youtubers? His content is so funny and edited in the perfect way. The world is missing out, man.


	8. Hat

**Hat**

“Hey, Luke?” Hana turned to face her boyfriend, placing her bag of chips back on the picnic blanket.

“Hm?” Luke hummed with his mouth full of his ham and cheese sandwich.

“Why do you always wear that hat?” she asked, referring to his signature black snapback.

After taking a few moments to chew and swallow, he responded, “There’s not much of a reason. I’ve just had it for so long and think it looks cool.”

He watched her blink a few times and furrow her eyebrows, “Why? Do you not like it?”

“Oh no!” the young girl frantically waved her hands, “I think it looks great on you. I was just curious, that’s all.”

Luke smiled, placing his hand over hers.

“Thanks…” he instinctively repositioned his cap with his other hand, “What about you? Do you have a reason for always wearing your bow in your hair?”

“Uh, yeah, actually… but you probably don’t want to get into that story,” she chuckled nervously.

Luke gave an expression equivalent to a sad puppy.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s totally cool, but I really like learning more about you.”

Hana blushed and bit her lip. As always, Luke was so sweet and charming without even realizing it. 

“Well… I was actually bullied a lot back at home...”

Luke looked taken aback.

“I’m sorry, Hana,” he squeezed her hand gently, not really knowing what else to say.

She shook her head, “No, don’t worry! I actually came to Asagao because of it, so I guess it worked out in the end.”

With a sad smile, he gently massaged her palm.

“Anyways, I used to have long hair, down to my mid-back, but one day, a friend of mine came over to my house for a sleepover and cut it all off while I was sleeping.”

With a sigh, she continued her story, “I lost a lot of confidence after that. I felt so ugly. My father gave me a red ribbon and told me it was my mother’s. He tied it into my hair, and I actually felt cute for the first time in a long time.”

Hana smiled cheerily in response to the rapper’s sad expression, attempting to show that she was OK. 

“And that’s why I wear this bow all the time,” she chuckled, trying to exude positive energy.

Luke stared at her sweet smile. She’s been through so much bullying back at home and still gets bullied occasionally at Asagao, but here she was, smiling as brightly as ever. 

He pulled her into an embrace, and she slowly returned it.

“I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, Hana,” he said, hugging her tighter.

“It’s alright…” she pulled away and looked at her boyfriend lovingly, “Everything that happened to me brought here, so it’s not so bad, right?”

Luke grinned and hugged her again, making her giggle. All of a sudden, he felt a breeze through his hair. As he patted the top of his head, he saw that Hana had taken his hat and put it on her own head.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without the hat,” she said with another giggle, “You look so different.”

“Hope it’s a good different,” he said, enjoying how cute she looked in his snapback.

“It is,” she nodded confidently, “You look great either way.”

Luke’s cheeks tinted pink as he smiled, “C-can I have it back now? I wanted you to at least see me without the hat when my hair wasn’t a mess.”

Hana stood up and stuck her tongue out to the side with a wink, “You’ll have to catch me first.”

Without hesitation, she sprinted out towards the field.

“Hey!” Luke shouted, scrambling to his feet and chasing after her.

The couple ran around the grassy outskirts of the academy, both filled with joyful laughter. However, It didn’t take very long for Luke’s long legs to catch up to Hana’s short ones. Once he was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. She squealed and laughed harder, her heart racing with excitement.

Luke carefully placed Hana back on the ground, still hugging her from behind. He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek as he returned the cap back to his head. 

“That’s it,” he said, still catching his breath.

“What’s it?” she asked, also breathing heavily.

“I can’t let you run away from me, so I’m going to have to hold onto you forever,” he teased, nuzzling into her hair.

Hana giggled, “Fine by me.”


	9. Injury

**Injury**

Luke sighed as he crumpled up another piece of notebook paper and stuffed it into his backpack. He was getting more and more frustrated with writing the lyrics for his next song. The music itself was ready, but the words just weren’t coming. He placed his chin on his fist and glanced around the classroom.

It was a typical Thursday morning. All the students of Ms. Shizuka’s class were busy either chatting or working on some sort of project. Sunlight washed over the Normal Boots boys who sat towards the back of the classroom. Shane was drawing something as usual while Jon was attempting to catch a few Z’s before the teacher arrived. Meanwhile, Ian was playing an app on his phone, occasionally looking over at Luke’s lyric predicament.

“Everything alright, dude?” he asked, barely taking his eyes away from his game.

“Yeah, no worries,” Luke assured, pulling out his watch.

There was only 5 minutes till the start of class.

“Hey, where’s Hana?”

The moose shrugged, “I don’t know. She might just be running late.”

The rapper pressed his lips together. Hana wasn’t really the type of person to be late, especially without letting anyone know. She was really studious and cared a lot about school.

He turned around to face Mai, Hana’s roommate.

“Hey, where’s Hana?”

Mai smiled sheepishly, “I’m sure she’ll be here. I really should’ve helped her get here, but the volleyball team had an emergency meeting early this morning.”

Luke furrowed his brows, “Why would you need to help her get here?”

The redhead’s eyes widened, “Wait, do you not know-”

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the classroom door clicking open, followed by clacking sounds against the floor. In walked a very pitiful looking Hana, mobilized with just a pair of crutches. Her left foot was wrapped with what looked like white gauze. She kept her eyes down, avoiding the stares of her fellow classmates.

“Oh my God,” Luke and Ian whispered in unison, evidently shocked.

Just as Luke was about to get up to go help, he noticed PBG trailing behind her, carrying two backpacks.

“You still doing alright?” he asked, letting the door slowly close shut behind him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she smiled sweetly, and Luke watched as he blushed.

He felt his blood boil as the two of them made their way to Hana’s desk. She carefully sat herself into her seat while leaning her crutches against her desk.

“Where do you want your backpack?” the soccer player asked.

“Oh, just on the floor next to me is fine. Thank you so much for all your help, PBG.”

“Of course,” he did as she instructed, “If you need absolutely anything else, please let me know.”

Hana, taken aback by the extreme kindness, became nervous, “Th-that’s alright. Thank you again.”

PBG simply smiled and nodded before returning to his desk. Luke was ready to unleash a wave of questions, but just when he was about to turn around, Ms. Shizuka burst through the door. The look on her face showed that today would be another day full of intense lectures and bad break-up stories.

 

\----------------------------

 

As soon as the lunch bell rang, Luke sprang to his feet and went to stand right next to his girlfriend, who was a bit startled by his sudden movement. The rapper could hardly pay attention to the lesson when his mind was clouded with jealousy and curiosity.

“Hana, what happened?” he blurted out.

The pink-haired girl rubbed the back of her head, “Oh, it’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” commented Ian, who decided to join in on the conversation.

“I just slipped and sprained my ankle in the girl’s bathroom at my dorm. It’s really no big deal and should heal within the next few days,” she reassured the two boys.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Luke asked, “I would’ve helped you.”

Hana blushed, “Th-that’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d want to come help me, but I really didn’t want to trouble you.”

“But you’re never any trouble,” the rapper insisted.

“Yeah, you really don’t need to worry about that,” Ian spoke up, backing up his roommate.

“Thank you, guys,” she said, placing the last of her belongings into her backpack, “You really are the most dependable club-mates anyone could ask for.”

“Wow, did you just club-zone me?” Luke joked.

“Shut up,” Hana giggled, gently punching her boyfriend’s arm.

She struggled to stand up, but Luke was quick to wrap his arms around her to help. As he was holding her, he noticed PBG staring at them.

Perhaps he was being petty, but, at that moment, Luke honestly didn’t care. He held Hana closer to his chest and placed a series of loving kisses on her cheek and jawline, making her face turn a bright shade of red. As he pulled away, he watched PBG frown and turn around hastily.

“Wh-what was th-that for?” Hana asked.

Luke chuckled at her flustered state, “Just trying to make a point.”

She hid her face behind her hair, “Wh-what point?”

“That you’re irresistible,” he teased, giving her another kiss on the cheek.

Ian snickered at the whole scene, “God, straight guys are so possessive.”

“Shut up,” Luke narrowed his eyes at his smirking roommate.

Hana had no clue what they were talking about, but she decided it would be best not to ask. Instead, she opted for tugging on the rapper’s sleeve to get his attention.

“Can we go now? I’m really hungry. I wasn’t able to eat breakfast this morning.”

“Of course,” Luke grabbed her backpack as Ian handed her the crutches.

“Thank you again,” she beamed at the boys before hopping over to the door on her crutches.

The three classmates headed down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Most of the students had already raced to the dining hall, so the general hallways were empty of noise aside from the chatter amongst the Hidden Block trio and the clacking of Hana’s crutches against the floor. Although Ian and Hana were discussing something related to today's lesson, Luke found himself internally struggling instead of paying attention. Why did Hana ask PBG for help instead of him? Did she not want to see him? Did she figure out that PBG likes her? Does that mean she would rather be with PBG than him? He desperately wanted to question Hana about PBG, but he didn’t know how to do it without sounding like a crazy, possessive boyfriend.

Suddenly, one of the crutches slipped against the ground and sent the pink-haired girl falling to the side with a squeak. Luckily, Luke reacted immediately and caught Hana before she hit the floor.

“Are you OK?” he asked, heartbeat steadying from the burst of shock.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you,” Hana sighed with relief as she steadied herself, “I’m still not quite used to these things.”

“How did you even manage to get all the way to class from your room?” Ian asked.

“It wasn’t easy. I had to go down the stairs because the elevator was out of order. It was possibly the most tedious task I’ve ever had to do.”

“At least you didn’t have to carry your backpack,” Luke unintentionally muttered aloud, making Ian snort from suppressing a laugh.

“Huh?” she looked perplexed.

“I-I was just saying it’s good that someone was there to help you carry your bag,” he chuckled nervously, while gesturing towards Hana’s backpack that he had in his hand.

Hana laughed, surprising both of the boys, “If only that were the case. I didn’t run into PBG until I got to the school building. Once he saw me struggling, he bolted over to help me. I assured him that I was fine, but he insisted on carrying my bag for me anyway.”

Somewhere deep in the depths of Luke’s heart, a storm was subsiding. The whole situation he was stressing over was just a coincidence.

“Letting a Normal Boots member carry your backpack for you?” Ian clicked his tongue, “I’m afraid that’s against Hidden Block code #47. Looks like we’ll have to put you on trial for treason.”

Hana rolled her eyes with a smile, “Ah yes, I must atone for my sins against the sacred Hidden Block code, but could you perhaps forgive me just this once?”

Ian smirked as they approached the door the cafeteria, “I might be able to forgive your heinous act in exchange for your slice of cake from today’s lunch.”

She laughed once more, “Deal.”

The moose grinned as he casually held the door open with his foot. Whispers floated across the lunch crowd as stares fell upon the injured girl. She blushed and looked at the ground as she entered, but a sudden wave of yellow and black caught her eye.

“Hana, are you OK?”

“What happened?”

“Do you need help?”

The remaining Hidden Block members swarmed Hana, bombarding her with questions and kind gestures. After vehemently telling everyone she was fine and didn’t need any help, the boys defeatedly returned to their respective table. Although a bit overwhelmed, Hana giggled to herself, proud to be part of such a caring group of people. After a few seconds, she realized that Luke hadn’t left her side.

His cheeks tinted pink once she noticed him, “I-if you don’t mind, I’d like to walk with you to get your food. I don’t have to help if you don’t want me to though.”

Hana’s lips curved into a gentle, pure smile as she stood on the tiptoe of her good foot to kiss his cheek, “Just having you with me is all the help I need.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm about to go through a hell week at school, so I wanted to post this set of chapters ASAP. I hope you've all been doing well and that everything you're working on turns out amazingly!


	10. Jealousy

**Jealousy**

“Are you serious?!” 

Hana plopped her back onto the floor with a huff, eyes shooting bullets at the “You Lose” screen on her phone. Meanwhile, Ian was relaxed, leaning his back against Hana’s bed, as smug as ever. The tides had turned since their last hangout session, and Ian was savagely defeating Hana at every round of Dumbidoom’s Revenge. 

“Looks like you’ve lost your spark, Hana Mizuno,” he teased, nudging her leg with his foot.

“Whatever,” Hana sat up and blew a strand of hair off her face, “you’ve just become godly at this game all of a sudden.”

“Nah, you just suck.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, which only made the moose smirk.

“What’s your secret?” she crawled over to sit next to him, “You’ve gotta tell me.”

Ian shrugged, “There’s no secret, really.”

Hana pouted, earning a couple headpats from the boy.

He sighed, “I’ve just had a lot of time to practice, I guess.”

The pink-haired girl tilted her head, “Why’s that?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Ian suddenly started avoiding eye contact, mindlessly flipping back and forth between apps on his phone. Hana sensed the shift in mood and furrowed her brows.

“Why don’t you want to tell me?”

He continued to stare blankly at his phone screen, “It’s stupid.”

“I don’t think it’s stupid.”

“You don’t even know what it is.”

She looked down at her lap, “Well it’s clearly bothering you, so it’s not stupid to me.”

Ian stopped fiddling his fingers and slowly lifted his head to look at Hana. Her visage was adorned with pure innocence and care. A tight feeling tugged at his chest; he wasn’t used to someone being so concerned about him.

With a deep breath, Ian spoke, “When’s the last time we hung out like this, Hana?”

“I don’t know…” she thought for a few moments, “maybe a week?”

“Two.”

Hana blinked rapidly for a second. Had it really been that long? They used to spend time together almost every other day.

“Oh…” she struggled to find words to say.

The boy went back to avoiding eye contact by pretending to look around Hana’s room.

“Ever since you and Luke started dating, I’ve had a lot of time to myself.”

As silence filled the room, guilt began to mount in Hana’s chest. She didn’t mean to put off her time with him. It kind of just… happened?

“I’m sorry, Ian,” she began, shifting to sit on her knees and face him directly, “How about we go out for ice cream tomorrow? My treat!”

The moose turned his head to stare at the girl’s cheerful grin. Hana began calculating the potential monetary loss in her head. No big deal, she could just skip one of her meals at some point to make up for the ice cream. 

“First of all,” he heaved a sigh, “I know that if I let you pay for me that you’ll end up skipping a meal just for my sake, and I don’t want that.”

Damn it. He knew her too well.

“Second of all, I’m not a charity case. If you don’t want to hang out with me, then don’t do it. I couldn’t give less of a shit.”

His gaze fell to the floor with a scowl. Hana frowned before moving her hand to gently massage his shoulder. Ian wasn’t one to deal with his emotions and would often hide behind his apathetic image to avoid the topic. Although she understood that, Hana couldn’t leave the conversation on this note.

“You’re not at all a charity case,” she leaned her head onto his shoulder, “I love hanging out with you...”

She pondered for a moment. 

“It’s just… this is my first relationship, so I think I became too distracted by the whole thing. I’ve always been thinking about Luke, and I neglected you in the process. I’m really sorry.”

After a few seconds, Ian released another sigh and laid his head on top of hers, “What do you mean ‘neglected?’ I’m not a dog.”

Hana giggled, “Nope, but you are one of my closest friends, and I really do miss spending time with you like this. I should’ve been more attentive to your feelings, so I promise to make up for it in the future.”

“Ugh, I hate this conversation,” Ian groaned as he rolled his eyes.

“Too bad,” she poked his forehead, “You chose to be friends with me, so you have to deal with my sappiness.”

“How do I return a friend?”

Hana laughed, “Sorry, you forgot to buy the warranty.”

“Shit, that’s always what gets me.”

Hana lifted her head and felt her heart swell at the sight of Ian cracking a genuine smile. 

“Well, I’ve made my decision,” she clapped her hands together and sat up proudly.

“And what would that be?” 

“I’ve decided that I can’t let you be better than me at Dumbidoom’s Revenge, so we’re going to have to hang out more often.”

Ian chuckled, “It’s no use. You’ll never catch up now.”

“Oh yeah?” Hana whipped out her phone and reopened the app, “Prove it.”

The boy smirked as he reopened the app on his own phone. Within seconds, they set up a match and were ready to battle again. As the loading screen popped up, Hana couldn’t resist glancing up at Ian once more and was pleasantly surprised to catch another glimpse of his smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, we interrupt your irregularly scheduled Flowertown content with Hana x Ian content once again (BrutalFlower? FlowerMoose?), but they're precious cinnamon buns that are fun to write about, OK?


	11. Kiss

**Kiss**

“OK, what’s my favorite color?”

“Obviously, purple,” Hana beamed with confidence.

“Correct!”

Luke gently pushed the pink-haired girl forward by the seat of the swing, earning a joyful laugh that made his heart warm.

“Give me something harder.”

The rapper scanned the park area, searching for some sort of inspiration. His eyes eventually landed on some dandelions in the grass.

“What’s my favorite flower?” he asked, placing his head on top of hers.

Hana was silent for a few moments, “I don’t know. Did you ever tell me?”

“Yup! You should know this one,” he grinned.

“Uh, I don’t know… is it sunflowers?”

“Nope!”

Luke grabbed the chains on Hana’s swing and pulled them up as far as he could before releasing her into a majestic arc. Upon reaching peak height, she jumped off the swing and landed on the gravel.

“Aww man,” she walked back over to her boyfriend, “What was it?”

“My favorite flower is you, remember?” he kissed Hana’s forehead while engulfing her in a hug.

“Come on, that doesn’t count,” the pink-haired girl giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Hey, I don’t make the rules.”

“You’re the one who came up with the game,” Hana retorted, making Luke smile from ear to ear.

“That sounds like sore loser talk,” he teased, earning some playful punches from the girl.

“How much time do we have left?” she asked, gazing up at the sky that was becoming dimmer every minute.

Luke checked his watch, “Still have about 30 minutes.”

The couple had gone out for a romantic dinner in the city earlier that day but were unfortunately met with a heavy train delay on the way back. Thus, they decided to pass the time at a local park nearby. It was quiet and peaceful, which was ideal for both of them.

“How about you make up a game this time?” Luke suggested, taking a seat on the swing.

Hana shook her head, “I’m not very creative; I don’t think I’ll be able to come up with anything good.”

“What? You have great ideas! Just give it a shot.”

She attempted to pout, but her boyfriend’s infectious smile got the best of her.

“OK fine, on one condition,” she pointed at the swing set, “I want to ride the swing.”

This time it was his turn to pout, “But I just got on it.”

Before Hana had the chance to speak again, an idea popped into Luke’s head.

“How about we ride it together?”

He patted his lap, grinning as her face turned bright red. Despite her shyness, Hana did as suggested and sat in Luke’s lap. She was extremely stiff and nervous being so close to him; it felt like her cheeks were going to burst into flames. However, her nerves relaxed as he gently pushed her head onto his shoulder, allowing her to lean into him. Thankful for the comfort, she kissed his cheek and smiled softly. Although she couldn’t see it, Luke’s cheeks were a bright shade of red as well, his heart pounding against his chest. For a while, the couple just rocked slowly on the swing set, relishing in the spring breeze and songs of lively blue jays. Eventually, Hana broke the silence.

“There was a game I used to play back in middle school.”

“Oh yeah?” Luke perked up.

“Yeah, it was this game where we’d each name some sort of experience, and we’d see who had done it first. Whoever had done the thing first won that round. It’s sort of a reverse to ‘Never Have I Ever.’”

“That makes sense, I think.”

Hana lifted her head off his shoulder, “Here, I’ll give an example, when’s the first time you ever played a video game?”

“Oh man,” Luke looked up as he attempted to recall his past, “I was probably like 3 or 4 years old.”

“What?!” the girl’s eyes widened, “No way!”

“Yes way,” he felt oddly proud, “My big brother really liked gaming, so I got into it pretty quick.”

He looked at Hana’s flabbergasted expression and laughed, “I’m guessing you didn’t play your first game till later?”

“Yeah, I mean, I only ever got to play games because I used to live next door to this boy who had a ton of them. I literally didn’t get my first console until the day before I came to Asagao.”

“Whoa, that’s crazy. We lived such different lives.”

Hana nodded, “Anyhow, I guess you won that round.”

Luke pumped his fist into the air, making his girlfriend laugh.

“I guess it’s my turn then. Hmmm…” he stroked his chin, “When was the first time you broke a bone?”

“I’ve never broken a bone before.”

The look of shock transferred over to Luke’s face, “Really?! You’re so lucky!”

“No, I just don’t do anything remotely active,” she responded with a snort.

The couple laughed together, submerged in a cloud of happiness.

“Well I’m still glad you’ve never had to go through that. It really sucks,” the rapper shivered a bit, “I broke my arm falling off a skateboard.”

Hana cringed at the thought, “Ouch, I hope that didn’t happen to you often.”

“Nah,” he shrugged, “that’s the only time I’ve ever broken a bone, but I thought it happened to everyone at some point.”

“Well I guess that means it’ll happen to me eventually,” the pink-haired girl joked.

“Nope, because I’m here to protect you,” he wrapped his arms around her small frame and squeezed tightly, eliciting a tiny, high-pitched squeak from Hana.

“Looks like you might be the one who breaks my first bone,” she stuck her tongue out with a wink.

Luke playfully shoved her off his lap, forcing her to stand up, but Hana just giggled in response.

“You’re only proving my point,” she attempted to return to his lap, but he held his arms up in an X-formation, “Hey, I wanna swing too.”

“Too bad, you might break a bone if I let you swing.”

Hana narrowed her eyes at him as he smirked.

“How about if I win the next round, then I get to swing?” she suggested, the challenge flaring in her eyes.

“You’re on.”

“Alright, I know I’ve got you on this one,” she grinned, “when was the first time you had sushi?”

“Oh God,” Luke really had to think about this one, “probably sometime in like middle school?”

Hana clapped her hands, “Well get off that swing then because you just lost.”

The boy rolled his eyes and did as he was told. He chuckled as his girlfriend adorably plopped onto the swing.

“When did you eat sushi for the first time?”

“I had sushi when I was a toddler,” she held her head high and put her hands on her hips as if this was an amazing achievement.

“What the heck? I feel like I would’ve barfed at the thought of raw fish at that age.”

“I was born and raised in a Japanese household,” Hana explained, “Fish was just an everyday staple.”

Luke nodded, intrigued. It was as if he just realized his girlfriend was Japanese for the first time.

All of a sudden, his face lit up, “I’ve got one!”

He walked over to stand behind Hana, “When was your first kiss?”

Silence followed. He couldn’t see her face, so Luke just assumed she was thinking about it.

“Mine was actually back in middle school,” he decided to share his story as she was thinking.

Hana turned her head to look at him and grinned mischievously.

“Wow, you were already a player back then, huh?”

“Hey, I was never a player to begin with,” he assured, “Well, I was a bit of a dick back then though. I only kissed the girl as part of a dare, which I know now is really fucked up, but I didn’t think much of it at the time.”

“You weren’t a dick, Luke. We were all naive as kids.”

The rapper shrugged. He knew she was right, but it still wasn’t an action he was proud of.

“So how about your first kiss, huh?” he nudged her back with his elbow, “I bet he wasn’t anywhere near as good-looking as I am.”

Luke found himself laughing alone. Hana’s head was turned to the ground, letting her hair droop to hide her face.

“Hana?” he shifted to her right side, attempting to see her expression.

She brushed her hair out of her face, “I actually haven’t had my first kiss yet.”

“R-really?!” this was the most shocked Hana had ever seen him.

“Yeah, I know, I’m a loser,” she attempted to smile, but the pink tint of her cheeks gave away her embarrassment.

“No, you’re not a loser at all,” Luke comforted, rubbing her head, “I think it’s good that you didn’t rush into having your first kiss like most people do.”

Hana sighed, “Oh please, boys just never had any interest in me. I was always too quiet or not pretty enough.”

The rapper suddenly grabbed the chains of Hana’s swing. Upon being shadowed by his figure, she looked up to meet his gaze.

“I think you’re perfect.”

A rapid thump beat against the girl’s chest.

She bit her lip, attempting to hide her smile, “Really?”

Luke smirked, “I’ll prove it.”

He leaned in and closed his eyes; she mimicked his actions and felt her heart stop once their lips connected.

This was it. This was her first kiss. Her first kiss was with Luke on a swing set in the middle of the city, and she couldn’t have been happier about it. She also couldn’t have been more nervous; her body trembled from both sheer excitement and the desperation to do a good job. Hana let him lead the brushes between their lips, a wave of relief and warmth sweeping over her as she felt him smile into the kiss. A twinge of disappointment hit her once they pulled away. Their eyes reconnected, both observing the smiles creeping upon their faces. A couple awkward chuckles were exchanged as Luke took her hands in his.

“I hope your first kiss wasn’t too bad,” the boy blushed slightly.

“It was perfect,” she lovingly squeezed his hands, sending his heart rate soaring.

Luke released her palms and repositioned his cap before grabbing the swing’s chains once more, “Any idea who your second kiss will be with?”

Hana giggled, “I’m not 100% sure, but…” they both leaned in again, “I have a good guess.”


	12. Lame

**Lame**

Hana took a deep breath. She was standing outside the door to the Hidden Block club room, about to infiltrate what seemed to be some sort of secret meeting. Almost all the guys had been acting strangely elusive; they were definitely hiding something.

It all started with Hana asking Luke and Ian if they wanted to have a movie night. The boys both exchanged looks before giving their excuse.

“Actually, Ian and I are gonna be working on a project tonight,” Luke explained confidently.

“A project?” Hana cocked her head to the side, “We don’t have a project in our class right now.”

“Oh yeah, uh, it’s actually a music project! Yeah, Ian’s helping me with my next track.”

The girl lifted an eyebrow, “I didn’t know Ian rapped.”

“You don’t know a lot of things about me, Hana,” the moose smirked, unfazed by her prodding.

Although they were acting suspicious, she decided to just let it slide. The fact that there were still secrets between them bothered her a bit, but she wanted to respect their boundaries. However, her curiosity mounted in the cafeteria that day. Almost all the Hidden Block boys kept speaking in code, referring to “the thing” at “the place” or something along those lines. It felt like everyone was in the loop except for her. The only other outliers were Jimmy and Wallid, who both simply shrugged.

“They just get like this sometimes. Don’t worry about it,” Jimmy assured with a smile.

Despite the attempted comfort, her drive to figure out what was going on peaked. Very carefully, she followed the trail of Luke and Ian as they left their dorm that night. She kept her distance very wide to avoid getting caught and was sure to check her surroundings too in case anyone else showed up. It was past curfew, and the last thing she needed was for her scholarship to be threatened by a late-night excursion only fueled by curiosity.

Hana felt her heart drop as she watched the two boys move past the recording room, confirming that they were lying to her. Once she saw them enter the clubroom, a couple laughs and cheerful banter could be heard.

Were they having a party? Like a guy’s night? Was that all this was? No, then they wouldn’t have been so secretive about it. Why did they want to hide it from her?

As her thoughts swirled, Hana timidly approached the door. Her hand trembled as she reached for the knob. All she could see through the door's window was a blue light and the shadows of some of the boys. With a big gulp, she decided to just burst in all at once.

On the count of three.

One…

Two…

Three!

  
She quickly pushed the door open and barged inside. Her eyes widened at the sight before her. Jared, Ian, Caddy, Jeff, and Luke were all sitting around a table, fully decked out in various costumes. The only thing illuminating the room was a glowing blue orb in the center of a large table.

The silence was deafening, as only looks of absolute horror were given to the pink-haired intruder. Struck with fear and confusion, Hana broke the silence with a shout.

“Indecent!”

With a burst of energy, she sprinted off down the hallway. The sound of Jared’s voice made her run faster.

“Get her!”

Her heart raced as she heard the bustling stampede behind her. As quickly as possible, she zoomed up the stairs and continued through the next hallway. Once she reached the corner, she noticed the door to the rooftop and made the detour.

Once the door closed with soft click, she leaned her ear up against it.

“Shit, we lost her!” she heard Caddy groan.

“Split up! We’ll find her!” Jeff proclaimed.

The pitter-patter of footsteps faded away as the boys ran further from the rooftop entrance. With a heavy sigh, Hana let her back slide down the door. She heaved deep breaths and began to feel a bead of sweat run down her face.

What was happening?

The girl gazed up at the starless night sky. Somehow, the emptiness felt comforting as she sat alone amidst the chirping of cicadas. Hana closed her eyes and shivered as the cool night air began to seep into her skin. However, it wasn’t until she heard footsteps near the door that her blood ran cold.

Standing up with a jolt, she scrambled to the other side of the brick building, hiding herself from view. Despite hearing the click of the door opening and sounds of gentle footsteps, she refused to check who it was. That is, until she heard his voice.

“Hana, I know you’re out here,” Luke spoke gently, as if he was trying to beckon a scared puppy, “C-can we talk?”

With a gulp, she slowly peeked out from behind the wall. Eyes sensing the movement, Luke glanced towards her direction. As their gazes met, neither one spoke. Luke was no longer wearing his costume, which, if Hana recalled correctly, was reminiscent of a white kitty cat. A slight breeze blew against her, and she shivered again.

Luke gave a small sigh and approached her while removing his club jacket.

“What are you doing out here? It’s cold,” he placed his jacket around her shoulders.

Hana didn’t answer. She honestly didn’t know what to say. She was frustrated that he lied to her, confused at what she witnessed, and terrified of what the guys were going to do to her.

After a few moments of silence, Luke embraced Hana, rubbing her head gingerly.

“What’s going on?” she mumbled into his chest, “Why did you lie to me?”

His hands stopped moving, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

She pushed him away from her, “Then why did you do it?”

Luke was at a loss for words. He took a step towards her and felt his heart sink as she took a step backwards.

“Hana, I…” he gulped, “I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” tears pricked at her eyes. The day's emotional rollercoaster really took a toll on her.

“Afraid that you’d think I was lame and break up with me.”

Hana was taken aback, “Why would I think that?”

“Because! I play DnD dressed up as a cat! What could be lamer than that?” his voice seethed with frustration at divulging his biggest secret.

He felt his heart collapse on itself as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists, bracing himself for the inevitable loss of the girl he loved. However, to his surprise, he instead felt warm lips encasing his own. Once he got past his initial shock, Luke melted into the kiss, carefully lacing his fingers into her hair. After a couple seconds, Hana pulled back with a kind smile.

“You’re so silly, Luke,” she cupped her hand onto his cheek.

The rapper still seemed surprised at the current situation, “Silly?”

“Yeah,” she caressed his face lovingly, “You really think I’m going to break up with you just because you like to play a game?”

Luke blinked a few times, unable to process any words.

Hana giggled before hugging him, “I don’t think you’re lame at all.”

She placed her chin on his chest, looking up at him, “In fact, I think I’d be interested in joining you guys if that’s possible.”

He was pretty sure he was dreaming at this point, “R-really?”

Hana gave a bright smile, her eyes forming little crescents, “Of course. I think it sounds interesting, and I want to support your interests.”

Erupting with joy, Luke picked his girlfriend up and spun her around, both giggling cheerfully.

“That would be amazing, Hana!” he exclaimed, placing her back on the ground, “I’ll have to run it by the guys first, but I don’t think they’d be against it.”

“Speaking of the guys…” she bit her lip, “Are they going to kill me? Because it really seemed like that's what they wanted to do.”

Luke chuckled and kissed her forehead, “They’d have to get through me first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another set of chapters! I honestly rewrote the "Kiss" chapter a few times because I was really struggling with it, but I think it turned out well in the end.  
> Anyhow, I hope you're all living your best lives. If all goes well, I should be able to update again before the end of this month. (No promises though).  
> Have an amazing day!


	13. Memory

**Memory**

Luke blew out the match in his hand before taking a step back to admire his work. It was about 7 PM. The sky was starting to fade, casting a soft sunset glow onto the Hidden Block club room. Two desk chairs were placed side-by-side in front of a small television that had the menu screen for _Thytanic_ playing. Atop the desks were two lit candles and a bouquet of red roses held in a translucent flower vase. With a bright grin, Luke clapped his hands together, proud of the whole set-up he prepared for Hana. He couldn’t wait to watch a romantic movie with her, hopefully holding each other close and exchanging kisses every now and then. His heart swelled at the thought, and he gleefully hopped over to the door to peek out the window.

To his pleasant surprise, Hana was indeed out in the hallway, but to his dismay, she wasn’t alone.

She was with PBG.

Luke froze. Suddenly, his body couldn’t process anything else as he became laser-focused on their movements. They just seemed to be talking, but he couldn’t hear anything. Upon closer inspection, their facial expressions were a bit unusual. PBG’s eyes were very desperate while Hana’s were filled with confusion.

A tight feeling tugged at the rapper’s chest. Was it wrong for him to be watching them like this?

Suddenly, PBG grabbed Hana’s hands and brought them up to his chest, making any shred of guilt Luke felt morph into jealousy. However, it was as if his feelings transferred to Hana as she seemed to be overcome with guilt. She pulled her hands away and rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke, gazing sadly at the soccer star. PBG closed his eyes and shook his head, visibly frustrated.

Without warning, he pushed the girl back up against the lockers. Luke’s hand instantaneously grabbed the doorknob, but he managed to stop himself from bursting through the door.

No. Hana can take care of herself.

After making a mental vow to not interrupt their conversation unless absolutely necessary, Luke felt his body shake with anger, watching PBG lean his face closer and closer to Hana as he spoke. He seemed to be begging her for something. Could this… be it?

Could PBG finally be confessing his love to Hana?

The swarm of anger Luke felt dissolved into paralyzing fear. Was this the end of his relationship transpiring right before his eyes?

Hana’s expression looked regretful, and for once, Luke could actually discern what she was saying through her lip movements.

“I’m sorry.”

Relief trickled in Luke’s body as he watched PBG deflate, but the rapper was honestly such a whirlwind of emotions that he didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. However, PBG’s visage became adorned with determination as he spoke again. The pink-haired girl was suddenly overcome with shock as she covered her mouth and widened her eyes. Luke furrowed his brows. What was happening now?

Hana dropped her hands and said something. PBG responded, equally shocked. With a breath-taking smile, Hana nodded enthusiastically, filling the boy with seemingly unmatched elation. In the blink of an eye, he hugged her and spun her around, both smiling and giggling.

Luke couldn’t watch anymore. His legs started to lose feeling, so he flopped onto one of the chairs. The sound of his heart shattering into a million pieces was all that rung through his ears. It was almost as if time stood still.

It was over.

His date.

His relationship.

His happiness.

It was all over.

The sound of the door clicking open was the only thing able to bring him back to reality.

The pink-haired girl walked in with a wide grin, “Luke, you’re never going to believe-”

Her jaw dropped as her eyes fell upon the romantic scenery. She cautiously approached the candles and flowers before stroking one of the petals in admiration. Beaming with joy, she whirled around to face her boyfriend.

“Luke, I-”

She froze. The boy’s face glistened from the tears falling down his cheeks. Their eyes met, and although no words were spoken, a million were exchanged. Hana had no clue what happened, but she could somehow feel his pain. This was the most broken she had ever seen him.

As soon as her brain processed what her eyes were witnessing, Hana wrapped her arms around his neck and sat on his lap. She removed his cap and stroked her fingers through his hair, her other hand rubbing up and down his back. Luke sighed into her shoulder and returned the embrace, feeling comforted in no time at all. It was honestly incredible the power she had over him.

The couple stayed that way for a while, with Hana occasionally kissing his cheek. Despite the silence, the atmosphere was warm and cozy. Over time, Luke’s embrace slowly became tighter; he didn’t want this moment to end.

“OK, I’m not gonna be able to breathe,” Hana giggled.

Without hesitation, Luke released his hold on her.

“Aww, you didn’t have to completely let me go,” she kissed his nose.

The boy blinked a few times, brain only processing one thought at a time.

Hana attempted to lighten the mood, “I really love the decorations you put up.”

She glanced over at the roses, “What is all of this for anyway?”

Prompted with a question, he attempted to respond, “I just, uh, wanted to do something special for you.”

He quickly wiped his face of any remaining tear streaks, thoughts still jumbled, but the overwhelming static in his brain dissipated upon seeing his girlfriend’s concerned expression. Her worry seemed so genuine, so loving, so caring.

She gently placed his cap back on his head, “Thank you. You’ve always been so thoughtful. You’re way too good for me.”

Oh no. Here it comes. The segue into ending the relationship.

“Is there… something you’d like to talk about?” she asked, placing her hand over his.

Luke released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. His whole body felt like a haywire roller coaster that couldn’t stop.

“Hana, please just do it.”

The girl blinked, “Do what?”

“Break-up with me.”

The once comfortable silence came back with a vengeance. She didn't know what to make of his words.

“Why would I break up with you?”

It was Luke’s turn to blink, “Didn’t PBG just confess to you?”

Hana gave a look of shock, “You knew?”

Luke nodded solemnly.

The girl pressed her lips together, “OK, well I don’t know why it was kept a secret, but I also don’t understand what that has to do with breaking up with you?”

The rapper’s exasperated expression took her by surprise, “What do you mean? Don’t you want to date PBG now?”

“Why would learning PBG was my childhood friend make me want to date him?”

The look on Luke’s face at that moment in time was perhaps the most paralyzed he would ever look in his lifetime.

“Childhood friend?”

“Yeah?” Hana lifted a brow, “he confessed that he was the boy who used to live next door to me when we were little. I had a hard time remembering him at first, but once he told me his full name, it all hit me at once.”

Needless to say, silence re-entered the chat as Luke deciphered the words that came out of her mouth.

“S-so you still want to date me?” he asked, unable to think of anything else to say.

Hana laughed, “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

In the blink of an eye, Luke was showering a giggling Hana with a myriad of kisses. She playfully pushed him away before giving him a few kisses as well.

Once the romantic giddiness was over, Hana looked down and licked her lips.

“Luke… I don’t want you to be afraid of me breaking up with you.”

The rapper nodded, feeling his face heat up at his foolishness.

“Just know that there’s no one else I’d rather date than you, and don’t ever think otherwise unless I tell you, OK?”

Luke grinned and nodded before placing a kiss on her cheek, “The same goes to you.”

The couple embraced as the sky reached complete darkness, leaving only an orange tint from the candlelight in an otherwise black room. Hana’s words kept repeating in Luke’s head, filling him with a fuzzy feeling. It seemed he wouldn’t need to be jealous anymore.


	14. Nap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Pure fluff ahead

**Nap**

Hana released a big yawn as she set her controller down on the floor. She and Luke had just finished a grand prix on _Nario Kart_ , with the latter winning by a landslide. It was a Saturday morning, and the pair were both sitting on the carpeted floor of Luke and Ian’s room; however, the moose was actually out with the other Hidden Block members to go see a movie. The couple opted out of joining the group to instead enjoy some alone time. However, it seemed that Hana was faltering more and more every minute.

“Are you doing alright, babe?” the rapper asked, rubbing his hand down her back.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m totally fine,” she grinned sleepily before releasing another yawn, “I’ve just been behind on sleep since I crammed for our exam yesterday.”

Luke frowned, “If you were too tired, you really didn’t have to hang out with me this morning.”

“Noooo,” the pink-haired girl whined, leaning her head onto his shoulder, “I want to spend time with you.”

The boy chuckled as he brushed her hair with his fingers, “How about we take a nap together then?”

Hana’s body tensed up. Sleep... in the same bed… as a boy? Not just any boy. Her boy _friend_.

With a gulp, she responded, “I-is that really OK?”

“Of course.”

He effortlessly picked her up and tucked her into his bed. Any concerns she had about the situation began to blur as her body hit the soft, warm mattress. Before long, Luke joined her under the covers and wasted no time wrapping his arm around her.

Enticed by the warmth radiating from her boyfriend, Hana instinctually cozied up to him, laying her head into the crook of his neck with an arm around his waist. Luke smiled as he kissed her forehead. She returned the kiss onto his neck but suddenly felt his arm tense up.

“Sorry, did I tickle you?” she asked innocently.

“S-something like that,” he responded, extremely thankful she couldn’t see his tomato-red face.

Hana didn’t question his answer and just went back to snuggling. Luke did the same by nuzzling into her hair, inhaling the scent of fresh strawberries. He then wrapped his leg around hers, making her giggle. Before long, their legs were tangled up in each other, their bodies as close together as they had ever been.

Perhaps if she was a little more awake, Hana would have been more concerned about the decency of their current situation; however, she was halfway to dreamland at the moment, so that was a concern for another time.

That is, until Luke spoke again.

“I love you so much.”

Her drowsiness practically zapped out of her body upon hearing that statement.

“Wh-what?”

“I said I love you so much,” Luke re-clarified, oblivious to her shock.

“H-how can you just s-say that all of a sudden?” she asked, still refusing to look up at him.

“Have I not said ‘I love you’ before?”

“N-no…”

“Oh…” he shrugged, “Well I think it all the time, so I guess I just kept forgetting to say it out loud.”

Hana buried her face into his chest, holding back a girly squeal and concealing her blush. Good Lord, this guy seriously couldn’t be more heart-attack inducing if he tried. That was the crazy thing too; he probably didn’t even know he was being so charming. To Luke, saying things like that is just blunt honesty.

The pink-haired girl garnered the confidence to look up at his face and saw that he seemed to be asleep already. With a soft smile, she placed a kiss on his chin and laid her head onto his chest.

A content sigh escaped her lips as she whispered, “I love you too.”

Although she couldn’t see it, Luke gave the most bright and pure grin to ever exist just before slipping away into a pleasant slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter but honestly one of my favorites <3


	15. OK

**OK**

Something was wrong with Hana. It wasn’t clear what it was, but it was certainly something. Everyday for the last few days, she had been coming to class with some sort of new problem.

Day 1: Her backpack was covered in stains of various colors. She claimed that she just dropped some food on it.

Day 2: Her school jacket had a large tear on the side of it. She claimed that she just got a thread caught on something.

Day 3: She had a cut on her cheek. She claimed that she just poked herself with a pencil on accident.

Each excuse seemed more far fetched than the last. Luke always made sure to ask her everyday if there was anything he could do for her, but her answer was always the same.

“I’m OK.”

It was kind of frustrating to see her struggle so much these last few days, but he honestly didn’t know what to make of it. Was she not sleeping enough and being too clumsy as a result? Was she working on some sort of project that kept having complications? Was there something she simply wasn’t telling him?

That evening, as he was working on a homework assignment, the rapper discovered that he wasn’t the only one concerned.

“Come on, Luke, let’s go,” Ian declared, getting up out of his chair.

“Huh? Go where?”

“We’re going to check on Hana.”

Luke’s eyes widened, but his roommate simply tilted his head towards the door.

“Are you coming or what?” Ian asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

As quick as a whip, Luke grabbed his jacket and and followed the moose out the door. The two of them walked across the campus, which was empty of students. It wasn’t past curfew, but it was still kind of late. The only noise that could be heard was the chirping of cicadas mingled with the shuffling of the boys’ feet.

“So what exactly is your plan?” the rapper inquired.

Ian rolled his eyes, “Something is obviously wrong with Hana, and we’re going to find out what.”

They both approached the door of the girls’ dorm, and Ian wasted no time swinging it open.

“Well she hasn’t said anything about what’s wrong, so what makes you think we can just waltz in and find out?” Luke asked, uncomfortable at the thought of grilling his girlfriend for answers.

Ian sighed as they began walking up the stairs, “Hana has stopped texting me around the same time every day for the last few days, so I have a hunch that we’re going to find out what’s going on right about now.”

“OK, but what if-”

Suddenly, Ian slammed his hand onto Luke’s mouth and shoved their bodies against the wall. With a finger on his lip, he signaled for the rapper to be quiet and listen.

“You really have some nerve showing your face around here again.”

That voice… it was one of the girls in their class, right?

“B-but I live here…”

Luke could recognize the second voice anywhere, and by watching Ian bite his lip, it seemed he recognized it too.

“Whatever, why don’t you go sleep with your boyfriend, huh? I bet you’ve slept with all the guys in our class already.”

“Oh please, she couldn’t get a Normal Boots boy, so she settled for Hidden Block instead.”

Hana sniffled, “That’s not true!”

An audible slap was heard, and Luke immediately attempted to run over to her but was stopped in his tracks by his roommate’s arm slapping against his chest. Ian locked eyes with Luke, subliminally sending a message he knew all too well.

“Give Hana a chance to handle this herself.”

Despite her fragility, Hana has always been very independent. She really disliked when the guys coddled her and treated her as if she was incapable of doing anything on her own. Luke knew this, but he couldn’t stand the thought of Hana being bullied and having to deal with it on her own. Besides, wasn’t the whole point of coming here to confront the situation head-on? Was he really just supposed to stand here and listen to these girls slander her?

“Awww, Mimi, look! She’s crying,” one of the girls cooed with a snicker.

“What? Can’t take one little slap?” Mimi added.

The sound of the girls laughing made Luke’s blood boil. It took every ounce of self-control he had to stay in place.

“Oh my god, she still has that cut on her cheek,” one of the girls laughed.

“Wow,” Mimi giggled, “I didn’t expect my pocket knife to make a cut that could last that long.”

“I think she needs a matching one on the other side.”

“You know what?” she whipped out the pocket knife, “I couldn’t agree more.”

That was the last straw for Luke, but to his own surprise, it was the last straw for Ian too.

“Lay one more finger on her! I fucking dare you!” he shouted, revealing himself from behind the wall.

Once the 3 girls spotted the raging moose, they were quick to run off down the hallway.

“Fucking cowards!” he continued to yell in their direction, face aflame and veins pulsing.

Although Luke had felt an equal amount of anger originally, seeing Ian burst into flames managed to diminish his own rage. As he peeked from behind the wall and saw his girlfriend crumpled on the floor in tears, all he felt was concern. He got down on his knees and pulled the weeping girl into his arms. She cried harder into his chest, but all Luke could think to do was hold her closer and occasionally place a kiss on the top of her head. Meanwhile, Ian had his forehead pressed against the wall, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down.

Hana eventually cried herself out. Once her breathing began to steady, Luke gained the courage to speak.

“Why did you keep telling me you were OK?”

The pink-haired girl pulled her head back, revealing her puffy, red face.

“Sorry I got tears on your jacket,” she said quietly.

Luke frowned, “Don’t worry about that. You’re avoiding the question.”

Hana released a whimper and sniffle as Ian glared at him. OK, maybe he should’ve been a little less direct.

“I think what Luke is trying to say,” Ian began, joining them on the floor, “is that we just want to know why you were hiding this from us.”

“I just…” she avoided eye contact, “don’t want to bother you guys. You shouldn’t have to fight my battles.”

Luke sighed, “You’re never a bother, Hana. We love and care about you. It honestly bothers me more thinking that you might need my help and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Yeah,” Ian nodded, “besides, we never hesitate to ask you for help, so I think we should be held up to the same standard.”

“And as far as battles go,” the rapper took her hands in his, “You’re always worth fighting for.”

“What he said,” Ian concurred, “except less corny.”

Hana giggled, and at that moment, it was the most beautiful sound Luke had ever heard. She wiped the tear stains off her cheeks before speaking again, voice slightly hoarse.

“Thank you.”

She smiled as she embraced her boyfriend. He happily returned it before glancing over at Ian and signaling him to join.

“Ugh, fine.”

He gave in and joined the hug, filling Hana with warmth and love. She sniffled and found herself almost crying tears of joy.

As long as she had these two by her side, she knew she really would be OK.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Mimi isn't actually this evil, but idk man this is just how I wanted the chapter to play out.
> 
> Anyhow, hope you're enjoying it so far! As for me, I've been having a lot of fun writing this series ^^ I know I always talk about school in these notes, so sorry for that; however, I will be going into finals week very soon, so I'll be MIA for a bit. 
> 
> As always, I hope you are all happy and healthy.


	16. Party

**P** **arty**

“And done!”

Mai took a step back and instantly lit up at the sight of her roommate.

“Oh my goodness, Hana, you look… HOT!”

The pink-haired girl stood up hesitantly before walking over to the mirror. The person looking back at her was unfamiliar, a complete stranger, but she sure as hell looked good.

Hana was wearing a black, sparkly, form-fitting, long-sleeved crop top with a white, high-waisted mini skirt. Black fishnet stockings adorned her legs, and her black, heeled, ankle boots completed the outfit. Mai had helped with the more cosmetic parts of the look including the pink extensions, which made her hair reach her mid-back. She also took charge of the make-up, which was much more dramatic than she was used to as it included eyeliner, mascara, smokey eyeshadow, and bright, red lips. Plus, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she was wearing contact lenses instead of glasses.

The girl in the mirror was absolutely NOT Hana Mizuno.

She grinned.

Perfect.

About a week ago, she overheard Mimi talking with her friends by the lockers.

“What does Luke see in her anyway?”

Hana did her best to avoid flinching or showing any sign of weakness, but she still couldn’t help eavesdropping.

“I know,” one of the friends spoke up, “she’s the most bland, boring girl in our class.”

Another girl chimed in, “He probably hasn’t grown up yet. I mean, she looks like a child.”

Mimi snickered, “Yeah, honestly, no guy in their right mind wants to date a girl who has the body of a 6-year-old.”

Each comment felt like a pin piercing her skin. Hana looked down at her chest and frowned. It’s not her fault she wasn’t well-endowed like the other girls. Despite knowing Mimi and her friends simply hated her, the comments kept sticking in the back of her mind.

Did Luke think she looked like a child?

A couple days later she heard about the Normal Block social: one of the biggest events of the year, second only to the game tournament. According to Ian, it was basically a huge party hosted by Normal Boots and Hidden Block where everyone could eat, drink, dance, and play games all night long. Anybody who cared about their social life came every year.

For Hana, this party was the opportunity to show a different side of herself. When she told Mai her plan, the red-head insisted on lecturing her about how she shouldn’t change herself for anyone and that she’s perfect the way she is; however, Mai was also low-key ecstatic to be able to give Hana a makeover and agreed to help change her look “just this once.”

After a never-ending shopping trip and intense make-up session, she was finally finished and ready to unveil her new look at the party.

Mai clapped her hands and jumped up and down, “Luke seriously won’t know what hit him when he sees you.”

Hana gave a small smile in response but felt worry in the pit of her stomach. How would her boyfriend feel about the new look? Even if Luke does like it, does that mean he prefers an artificial version of Hana over the real Hana?

She pulled her skirt down a bit. This was out of her comfort zone, but she was still determined to prove that she could look mature and attractive.

“Well are you ready to show them what we’re made of?” Mai proclaimed, proudly strutting to the door of their room. Much to Hana’s relief, Mai was dressed up too in an oversized, off-the-shoulder black top with a large, red belt that accentuated her curves. She also wore matching fishnets with heeled black boots that reached her knees.

Hana nodded at her roommate, and before long, they were out the door.

Once they reached Asagao’s gym, Mai was practically bursting with excitement.

“What do you think, Hana? Jared’ll fall head over heels once he sees me, right?”

The pink-haired girl crossed her arms, “What happened to ‘don’t change yourself for anyone?’”

“Do as I say, not as I do,” Mai retorted with a snicker as they both entered.

The gym was bursting with energy. It really did seem like almost every student was in attendance. Multi-colored lights blinked and swirled all over the gym floor in sync with the music. There were people dancing in the middle of the room, snacking over by the concessions table, and cliques of students mingling in the corners. It was just a like a school prom, except people weren’t wearing stuffy dresses and tuxedos. The most glaring difference between this event and a prom was the enormous projector on the side of the room playing _Nario Kart_. A large couch was placed in front of it, and it seemed whoever was sitting on the couch was playing the game; however, the crowd of students around it were blocking Hana’s vision of the players.

As she looked around the gym, she was a little relieved that no one seemed to be paying her and Mai any attention due to the excitement. Suddenly, the sound of a wolf whistle caught her attention. She smiled upon seeing Jeff approach.

“Looking good ladies!” he exclaimed, giving both of the girls a high-five, “You been having fun?”

“Thanks,” Hana beamed, happy to have received a genuine compliment, “We actually just got here.”

His eyes widened, “No way! You mean Luke hasn’t seen you yet?”

Hana shook her head.

“Damn it, I really want to see his face,” he laughed, “but it’s actually my turn to participate in the _Nario Kart_ tournament. Speaking of which, you’ll need to play a round or two since you’re a Hidden Block member, m’kay?”

She was about to protest, but Jeff must’ve suspected her concern and spoke before she could retaliate.

“Don’t worry about winning or anything like that. It might be a ‘tournament,’ but it’s really not that serious.”

Hana blushed, still a bit nervous about competing in front of everyone, “If you say so.”

“You’ll be fine,” he gently patted her head, “Luke is over by the tabletop games area by the way.”

He gestured to the other side of the gym, which featured multiple tables full of board games.

“Do you happen to know where Jared is?” Mai’s eyes glittered.

“Yeah, I’m actually going up against him in the tournament if you want to walk over there with me?” Jeff offered with his signature smile.

“Yes, please!” she bounced up and down but stopped abruptly when she looked at Hana, “Will you be OK on your own?”

“Yeah,” Hana assured, “I’m just gonna go find Luke, so no worries!”

With a wink and salute, Mai tailed Jeff over to the gaming crowd. In the meantime, Hana cautiously threaded her way through the various students. Upon arriving at the board games, she giggled at the sight of her friends playing _Starving Starving Stingrays_.

“Boom! I got 5 pearls!” exclaimed Jimmy as he pumped his fists in the air.

“Only cuz you shoved me halfway through the game,” Wallid argued.

The youngest shrugged, “You gotta do what you gotta do.”

Ian, Luke, and Wallid grimaced at Jimmy but all couldn’t resist laughing.

“H-hey guys,” Hana eventually spoke, making her presence known.

All the boys turned, their jaws dropping in unison once they saw their fellow club member. Even though she figured she’d get an odd reaction, she still couldn’t help blushing.

“H-hana? Is that really you?” Jimmy asked, eyes as wide as possible.

She nodded meekly, instinctually playing with her hair. She still couldn’t get used to how long it was thanks to the extensions.

Ian approached and took Hana’s hand to spin her around, examining her whole outfit.

“Well damn, you look hella good,” he commented.

The girl’s face lit up, “Thank you!”

“You’re also hella grounded, young lady,” Ian smirked, earning a pout from Hana.

“Don’t you dare discourage her from this,” Jimmy lectured Ian before grabbing the girl’s shoulders, “Hana, If you want to experiment with your femininity then you have every right to do so, OK?!”

She blinked a few times before responding, “Um, OK?”

Jimmy grinned and nodded his head, “I also think you look great, by the way.”

“You just HAVE to one-up me, don’t you?” Ian scowled at the youngest member, who stuck his tongue out in response.

Hana giggled, thankful for both her protective gay friend™ and supportive gay friend™.

Wallid came up from behind and wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders, “How about we let Luke and Hana have some time to themselves, hm?”

The duo’s mini-quarrel halted as Jimmy smiled widely and Ian just rolled his eyes. Before long, Hana was waving goodbye to the boys as they faded away into the crowd. When she turned back around, she was left alone with Luke. Well, as alone as one could be at a huge party.

“H-hey,” the rapper managed to utter, a harsh pink painted on his cheeks.

“H-hi,” she returned, rubbing her arm.

Both of them were smiling and blushing with a somewhat comfortable awkwardness lingering in the air. It was as if they were going on their first date again.

“You look…” Luke paused for a moment, scanning her up-and-down, which made her increasingly nervous, “wow.”

She laughed while tucking her hair behind her ear, “Wow?”

He shook his head vigorously, snapping out of his trance, “N-no! I meant, uh, you look, great!”

Hana released another giggle at her boyfriend’s sudden shyness, unaware that he was slapping himself mentally. With the bite of her lip, she held his hands.

“Thank you.”

Her eyes twinkled under the flashing lights, and Luke found himself drawn to them. As they both closed their eyes to lean in for a kiss, the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted.

“Sorry, lovebirds,” Jeff teased.

Luke scowled at the soccer player, but that only amused him further.

“I-it’s OK,” Hana assured, hiding her red face with her hair, “Did you need something?”

“Yup, it’s your turn to play, Hana,” he smirked at Luke before grabbing her hand and running over to the game station.

She struggled to keep up with his brisk pace in her heeled boots but still somehow managed to make it over to the large couch in one piece. All eyes were on Hana, jaws hanging and a couple whistles floating through the air. She really wasn’t used to this sort of attention and felt her body shake slightly. Jeff seemed to notice her unease and gave her palm a slight squeeze as he escorted her to sit down. While he went to grab her controller, she decided to see who her opponent was. Once she locked eyes with him, her heart sank.

“H-hi, Shane,” she greeted shyly.

The Brit’s stone-faced expression remained unchanged.

“Hey.”

Shane never liked Hana. It didn’t seem to matter what she did or how she did it; he just hated her. She eventually found out that it had something to do with her hair, which only gave her another reason to hate having pink hair. To make matters worse, _Nario Kart_ was Shane’s specialty; she was basically here just for the sake of formalities.

Jeff eventually handed Hana her controller and wished her luck. She thanked him and began selecting her character, but just as she was about to confirm her kart of choice, the feeling of hands on her shoulders made her jump. She turned her head to see Luke grinning at her while massaging her shoulders. Hana’s chest warmed as she smiled back at him.

“Hey! No cheating!” Jon shouted towards the couple.

“How exactly are we cheating?” the rapper questioned.

“You touching her could affect her performance! Hands off!” Jon persisted.

Luke groaned but did as instructed. The girl giggled before returning her focus to the screen and confirming her kart selection. Despite the interruption, she was glad that Shane didn’t seem to be upset by it.

The match went by rather quickly. Hana ended up in a solid 4th place, finding herself mainly battling the CPUs instead of Shane, as he maintained 1st place with a comfortable lead. Everyone clapped and cheered at the conclusion of the game.

Both competitors stood up and shook hands.

“Sorry, I’m not very good at this game. It was probably boring for you,” Hana chuckled nervously.

Much to her surprise, Shane gave a small smirk, “No worries. I had fun.”

Even though his tone of voice was as flat as ever, his words somehow felt more… sincere? Hana simply grinned in response before turning to try and find Luke; however, the crowd seemed to have grown since the game started, and she couldn’t see him anywhere. Her anxiety began to build.

“I think he’s over there,” Shane pointed towards the other side of the room, where Luke was standing next to Jeff and Ian, waving his hands in the air rapidly.

Hana sighed in relief and turned back to face the Brit, “Thank you!”  
As quickly as she could without losing her balance, she went over to the Hidden Block group, who all smiled at her as she approached.

“You did a great job, babe!” Luke cheered, wrapping her into a big bear hug and giving her a small series of kisses on her forehead.

She giggled, “Isn’t this a bit much? I only got 4th place.”

“Hey, that’s pretty good considering you’ve only played _Nario Kart_ a couple times,” Ian assured.

Hana beamed and attempted to step away from her boyfriend, but he wouldn't loosen his hold on her. She looked up at him curiously; he just placed his head on top of hers and held her tighter. Ian chuckled at them while giving his signature eye roll; however, Jeff’s attention was directed elsewhere.

“What are you looking at?” Hana asked, unable to follow his gaze.

“Oh, nothing,” he responded before looking at the pink-haired girl with a mischievous grin, “Would you mind coming with me for a bit, Hana?”

“Um, I guess so?” she responded, eliciting another groan from Luke.

“Dude, come on, I’ve hardly had any time with Hana since she got here.”

Jeff held his hands up in defense, “It’ll just be for a couple seconds, man. I promise.”

The rapper reluctantly released his girlfriend, who looked back at him with a perplexed expression. He wasn’t normally so clingy, and it wasn’t like this was their last opportunity to spend time together or something. However, just as she was about to speak, Jeff, once again, grabbed her hand and yanked her alongside him through the bustling students.

Once they reached their destination, Hana looked to see that they had arrived at the concessions table, where PBG and Jared were grabbing some drinks. Despite no longer moving, Jeff was still holding Hana’s hand.

“Hey guys,” he saluted, catching the boys’ attention.

They turned and smiled at Jeff before noticing Hana and proceeding to gawk. She sighed and gave a small wave with her free hand; honestly, she was used to the reactions at this point.

“Wow, Hana,” Jared began, his sparkles shining as bright as ever, “you look stunning.”

She grinned but before she could respond, Jeff put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer, “I know! She looks amazing, doesn’t she?”

He locked eyes with PBG who was grimacing at him.

“Do you not think so, Peebs?” he asked confidently.

PBG blinked rapidly, “What? No, I think she looks…”

He paused, his eyes affixed to the pink-haired beauty before him and a blush creeping onto his cheeks, “g-gorgeous.”

The girl looked away shyly as Jeff’s mischievous grin returned, “Mm-hmm. It really is a great look on you, Hana.”

He brushed her hair behind her ear, “I really love how you look with long hair.”

While Hana would normally feel flattered, she could tell Jeff was up to something; however, she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.

After stealing another quick glance at PBG, he proceeded to place his fingers on her chin and pull her face closer to his, “Your make-up looks great too.”

The sound of plastic being crunched startled Hana, and she looked over to see that PBG had crushed his cup with his hand, sending the red liquid trickling down his fist.

“Oh my God, PBG, what happened?” she exclaimed, grabbing some napkins for him.

The soccer player spoke through clenched teeth, “N-nothing, this cup is just faulty.”

As she helped clean the mess, she looked over and noticed Jeff doubled over in laughter while Jared looked at the whole scene with amusement. What the hell was wrong with these guys?

Once the spill was mostly clean, PBG gathered all the dirty napkins.

“Thanks, Hana,” he blushed, “Sorry about all that.”

She smiled, “It’s no prob-”

Once again, Jeff interrupted, “Well it was great seeing you guys! We’ll catch ya later!”

Hana felt major deja vu as he dragged her back over to where Luke and Ian were. When they finally reached the duo, the girl made a personal vow to never wear heels around the eldest Hidden Block member again.

Jeff went back to laughing as he held onto Hana’s shoulders, “Oh my God, that was great.”

She blinked, “What was great exactly?”

The boy patted her head, “Oh Hana, you can change your outside, but you’re still adorable and innocent on the inside.”

She still didn’t understand but felt it was best to just let it go. If there’s anything she’s learned about boys from being around them all the time, it’s that they never make sense.

At that moment, Hana felt strong arms encircle her torso from behind.

“Can I have my girlfriend back now?” Luke asked Jeff, voice dripping with sass.

His laughter continued, “Yeah, yeah, of course.”

Jeff waved goodbye at the trio before heading off to find some other friends.

Ian looked at the couple, “So what do you guys want to do now?”

 

\--------------

 

The party continued, and Luke was the clingiest he had ever been, always keeping an arm around Hana and stealing kisses every chance he got. As time went on, she came to the conclusion that Luke must like her better dressed the way she was. This realization dawned on her slowly, making her stomach feel more and more uneasy. Eventually, she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Luke, I’m sorry, but I don’t feel so good.”

He looked at Hana in alarm and placed his wrist on her forehead, “Do you want to head back to your room?”

She nodded sadly, but Luke gave her a reassuring smile before excusing them from the other Hidden Block members. The couple walked at a leisurely pace back towards the girls’ dorm, but the silence between them was anything but comfortable. Hana couldn’t help but feel worse as her boyfriend continued to hold her close. He always liked being all lovey dovey with her but never to this extent.

“Luke, can I ask you something? And I need you to be honest.”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

She took a deep breath, “Do you like me better dressed like this?”

He immediately halted his steps and turned to face her, “What?! No, what makes you think that?”

“What makes me think that?” Hana was truly shocked at his response, “You’ve been holding onto me and kissing me waayyy more than usual all night.”

Luke’s cheeks flashed into a bright pink color, “Well- I- that’s not because…”

He paused to collect his thoughts; Hana had no idea what to make of his sudden flustered reaction.

“God, this is so embarrassing,” he rubbed the back of his neck shyly.

She tilted her head and furrowed her brows, still in the dark.

Luke sighed, “Honestly, Hana…” he took her hands in his, “I was jealous.”

The pink-haired girl couldn’t have been any more confused at this point, “Jealous?”

“Yeah, I mean, everyone couldn’t take their eyes off you all night. All the guys kept going on about how hot you looked, and Jeff kept stealing you away half the time. Didn’t you notice how half the school’s male population shifted to your side of the couch while you were playing with Shane?”

Hana slowly shook her head, trying to recall the event. She remembered the crowd seeming larger, but she didn’t even notice that they were concentrated on her or that they were primarily guys for that matter. She was too focused on finding Luke.

“But you know what?” the rapper gently caressed her cheek, “I’m just gonna have to learn to deal with it. It’s only natural for the most beautiful girl in the world to get so much attention, right?”

Hana smiled, her anxieties loosening as she happily leaned into his palm. He brushed her cheek with his thumb before leaning in and carefully pulling her face towards his. Sparks flew as their lips connected into a soft, chaste kiss. Hana wrapped her arms around his neck while he pulled her in by her waist. At that moment, the world around them blurred, nothing else mattered. Any worries she had previously became nonexistent.

Once they pulled away, Luke spoke again, “I’m sorry I made you feel that way.”

Hana shook her head, “No, it’s OK. I jumped to conclusions too quickly.”

“I just want you to know that although I do like this version of you,” he kissed her nose, “this isn’t the Hana I fell in love with.”

If she wasn’t wearing so much make-up, her face would have been a solid red color.

He grinned, “No matter how you want to dress, I promise I’ll love you all the same.”

The girl’s heart was soaring, bursting with elation. Hana didn’t know what she did to deserve someone as amazing as Luke, but she was glad she did it.

The two lovers continued walking to the girls’ dorm, both drunk with giddiness.

Once they reached the door to her room, Hana squeezed her boyfriend’s hand, “Thank you for walking me back.”

“It was my pleasure,” he responded, “I hope you feel better.”

Hana nodded and bit her lip before giving him a kiss on the cheek. Luke grinned as his face tinted pink, but just as he started to walk away, Hana grabbed his wrist.

“W-would you like to stay and m-maybe watch a movie together?”

Luke looked stunned, but it didn’t take long for him to nod eagerly. The girl giggled as she pulled him into her room.

“But if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go change in the bathroom real quick. I don’t think I can stand this outfit any longer.”

Luke gave her a thumbs-up, “No prob. I’ll set up the movie in the meantime.”

After a while, Hana returned to her room, looking like her old self. She had her glasses back on, took out her hair extensions, removed all her make-up, and was wearing her comfy, teal pajamas. She couldn’t help blushing upon returning to Luke. Even though this was what he was used to seeing, it felt like she was revealing a downgraded version of herself.

“Well, your normal girlfriend has returned,” she joked, plopping next to him on the bed.

He grinned widely, pulling her closer and kissing her cheek, “And she’s as beautiful as ever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long af. I deeply apologize.


	17. Quest

**Q** **uest**

Ian chuckled sinisterly, “Give me an attack roll.”

A bead of sweat dripped down Caddy’s face as his trembling arm reached for the die. Everyone else in the room watched with bated breath, practically about to fall off their chairs. Meanwhile, Ian was grinning mischievously, his arms casually folded.

With a deep breath, Caddy rolled the die. As it tumbled across the table, everyone stood up to see the results. When the game piece landed on the number 4, the group inaudibly screamed. Perhaps the groans of frustration would have been released 5 turns ago, but at this point, it was all hopeless.

“Nice, a four,” Ian smirked, “Needless to say, you miss.”

The Brit snarled at the moose and slammed his fists on the table. Ian didn’t even flinch.

“Hey, I haven’t even added my attack bonus yet!” he insisted.

Ian’s signature eye roll returned, “Fine, what’s your attack bonus?”

Caddy clenched his teeth, “... plus one.”

“Woooowwww,” Ian’s voice was overflowing with sarcasm, “that increases your roll to a five, which, get this, makes no difference.”

“Listen here, moosey!”

As she watched the two bicker back and forth, Hana sighed. How did her first session of _Dungeons & Dragons _ end up like this?

When Hana proposed joining the DnD group, the guys were eager to take her in and show her the ropes. The first step of the process entailed her having to create a character. She decided to be an elf named Elizabeth, who came from a desolate grassy plain and specialized in healing magic. She received positive reactions to her proposed character, and everyone was happy to pitch in to buy her some fake elf ears. As for the outfit, Hana dug up a white, summer dress from her closet and threw on some brown sandals. Some of her party look made a comeback as she put on her long, pink extensions and contacts. To top it all off, she had gone to the outskirts of Asagao to gather some dandelions and make a flower crown. By the end of it all, she truly looked like a woodland elf.

Everyone loved the look she put together and welcomed her into the game with open arms. They decided to do a one-shot campaign to give Hana a feel for how to play, and she was super thankful that everyone was so patient with her. However, with Ian taking on the role of dungeon master, the group was quickly sprung into a spiral of pain and torment. He had them all enter a cavern where they were eventually met with an unstoppable beast of seemingly endless power. At this point in the game, everyone was down to low health, on the verge of being knocked out for the last time.

“It’s normally not this one-sided,” Jeff assured her.

She looked over at her boyfriend for confirmation; he simply made a half-hearted smile and nodded, upset with this being her first experience of DnD.

“Anyways,” Ian barked towards Caddy, “Now it’s Elizabeth’s turn.”

All eyes turned to the newcomer, who gulped before referencing her stats.

“Are you able to cast any more healing spells?” Jared asked.

Hana bit her lip, “No, I’m too low on energy.”

All the guys leaned back in their chairs, accepting defeat.

“What do you want to do then?” Ian asked as nicely as he could while also thriving in his sadistic fantasy world, “You do have a couple weapons you could use if you want to try that.”

The pink-haired girl looked at her character’s items. Not only did she have extremely basic weaponry, she also didn’t invest much into her strength stat when creating Elizabeth. Hana looked around the room, all hope had drained from everyone’s eyes; they didn’t even seem to be interested in her choice anymore.

“I…” she thought for a bit, contemplating what she could do.

From what she could tell, DnD was a very liberal game in the sense that you could do almost anything, as long as the dungeon master permitted it. It’s like there were rules about having no rules.

Hana glanced at Luke who smiled lovingly at her. Her heart swelled as she returned a grin towards him. Luke always made her feel like everything would be fine.

That’s when it hit her.

She looked directly at Ian, “I get everyone to grab hands…”

Hana carefully grabbed Luke’s hand in her left and Jeff’s hand in her right, as they were the closest to her.

“And we work together to send our energy into a magical beam aimed at the beast because the power of friendship conquers all?”

All the players blinked at Hana before turning to look at Ian, who seemed equally as flabbergasted.

He opened his mouth to most likely refute her plan, but after seeing how hopeful and pure her expression was, he found himself losing willpower.

“You know what? Sure,” Ian reluctantly stated.

The moose found himself amused by the dropped jaws of his friends. Meanwhile, Hana’s eyes glittered with joy.

Ian took another look at the players, “Well? Do you guys join hands like Elizabeth proposes?”

Everyone looked at one another before looking at Hana. Her sheer excitement was infectious, making the guys smile as they each held hands.

Ian snickered at the scene, “OK, Elizabeth, roll to see if this works out for you. I’ve got to warn you though; it won’t be easy since you’re all on your last legs.”

The pink-haired girl nodded with determination before grabbing the 20-sided die. Without hesitation, she shook it up in her hands before releasing it onto the table. Eyes widened and audible gasps were released as they saw the result.

“A natural 20?!” Jared exclaimed, looking at Ian who seemed just as baffled.

“What does that mean?” Hana whispered to Luke.

“It means you got the best possible result,” he whispered back.

The dungeon master seemed at a loss for words. Everyone was staring intently at Ian, waiting to see what he’d say. He gave Hana a slight grimace before sighing.

“The party members join hands and send a beam of friendship at the monster, destroying it and somehow healing all that were involved.”

Everyone cheered and high-fived except for Ian who was peeved that Hana ruined his opportunity to torture the guys. Seeing his annoyance, she stood up and skipped over to his side.

“And you know why that all worked out?”

Ian rolled his eyes, “Because the power of friendship conquers all?”

“Yup!” she gleefully wrapped Ian into a hug, which he did his absolute best to act disgusted with.

“Well I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be going back to _my_ campaign next time,” Jared proclaimed sassily towards the moose.

The guys murmured in agreement as Hana released Ian and walked back over to her boyfriend.

Ian stuck his tongue out, “Yeah, whatever, I let you all get a happy Hana ending, so I don’t want hear it.”

Hana giggled at the boys’ antics. She really loved her friends and was glad she could experience something new with them, even if it was at the expense of their own sanity for a bit. Her thoughts were interrupted by Luke rubbing her shoulder. He had already removed his cat accessories and proceeded to help his girlfriend remove her elf ears and crown. After waving goodbye to everyone, they headed out together, hand-in-hand.

The sky was a pitch-black, their surroundings only illuminated by Asagao’s lamp posts.

“You did great today,” Luke commented, squeezing her hand.

Hana blushed, “Thanks, it was a miracle that everything worked out.”

The rapper stopped in his tracks and pulled her closer to him.

He placed the bridge of his nose onto hers and smiled, “You’re my miracle.”

The girl giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck, “Are you flirting with me?”

“That depends,” he kissed the tip of her nose, “Is it working?”

Hana couldn’t help but laugh before planting a kiss onto his lips.

“Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually just played my first round of DnD about a week ago, so this probably isn't the most accurate representation of the game, but it's at least not completely baseless, right?


	18. Rain

**Rain**

Luke stuffed his face into his pillow, heaving a large groan. It didn’t matter what he did. He couldn’t get rid of the agonizing guilt eating away at him.

With a huff, he decided to go on his computer and work on remaking his song, but he just couldn’t get the scared, regretful look on Hana’s face out of his head.

 

\-----------------------

 

_“So… what did you think?”_

_Hana’s eyes lit up as she took the headphones off, “I loved it! It was amazing! Your best song yet!”_

_Luke beamed at her reaction. He wanted his girlfriend to be the first to hear his new track and was elated that she liked it._

_“Thanks,” he responded, squeezing her hand, “What was your favorite part?”_

_“Hmmmm...,” Hana thought for a moment, “I really like the part where your rap like mixed with the sound effects. It’s kind of hard to explain.”_

_She brought her hand up to the keyboard, “Let’s just listen to it again!”_

_“Wait-!”_

_Luke’s warning was a little too late as Hana had already pressed the spacebar. The waves from the music mixer disappeared all at once, leaving a blank project in its stead. The couple gawked, aghast at what just occurred in front of their eyes._

_“Wh-what just happened?” she asked, her heart rate slowly picking up its pace._

_Luke stared blankly at the computer screen, “You… deleted it.”_

_Hana’s body began to shiver in a panic, “Th-there’s gotta be an undo button, r-right?”_

_The rapper gulped, shoulders quaking._

_“No.”_

_This response seemed to paralyze the pink-haired girl._

_“Well, m-maybe it’s in the tr-trash bin or something?” she was desperate to fix her mistake._

_Luke simply shook his head, “No.”_

_Hana could hardly breathe as she watched her boyfriend tremble with anger. That’s when he stood abruptly, making her jump back with a squeak._

_His voice was soft but full of rage, “That’s months of hard work. Wasted.”_

_“L-luke I’m so sorry!” the girl clapped her hands together in a pleading motion, “Y-you can probably j-just rerecord it, r-right? I can help-”_

_He turned to face her and cut her off with a shout, “You don’t know jack shit about how much work this takes!”_

_Regret. After the words left his mouth, all that was left was regret._

_He wordlessly watched as Hana’s lip quivered and a tear fell down her cheek. She looked at him like he was a monster about to devour her whole. He hated it._

_She looked down at the ground, releasing a sob as a tear fell onto the floor, “I’m sorry.”_

_With that being said, she ran out the door. Luke’s heart begged for him to chase after her, to console her, to apologize, to remind her that he loved her, that mistakes happen… but his mind was clouded. He was furious, but he didn’t know if he was mad at Hana or himself._

 

\-----------------------

 

Thinking of her terrified expression made his heart sink.

In an attempt to distract himself, Luke began sifting through his music folders, looking for some of the audio files he used to put the mix together; however, a certain folder caught his eye. It was in the lower left part of his audio mixer’s files, a folder titled “deleted projects.” His heart racing, he opened it, revealing a myriad of old projects he had gone through and tossed over the years. After scrolling to the bottom of the folder’s contents, he saw it.

Fingers trembling, he clicked and dragged the file to his desktop before double-clicking it. In a flash, the audio mix popped up. He hit play and listened as his newest track played back at him. His song was still there. It wasn’t gone for good.

The rapper put his face in his hands, clenching his teeth in frustration. Although he probably should’ve been over the moon that his track wasn’t deleted, he could only think of his miserable girlfriend.

Sitting up with a sigh, he pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. Should he call her?

All of a sudden, as if by magic, he received a call; however, it wasn’t from the girl on his mind. In fact, he was pretty sure the caller was going to lecture him for what he did to the girl on his mind.

Hesitantly, he hit the “answer” button.

“Hello?”

“Hey Luke,” Mai’s tone sounded surprisingly casual, “Is Hana still with you?”

The rapper’s eyes widened, “What? No, she’s not with me.”

“Oh, well where is she? It’s getting kinda late, and she usually lets me know when she’s gonna be out this long.”

Luke’s mouth was agape. Hana wasn’t in her room? Where was she?

He quickly checked the time on his phone. It was 8:45, meaning Hana had run out about 15 minutes ago.

At that moment, a burst of lightning illuminated the room, followed by a loud crack of thunder. As the realization dawned on him, Luke’s heart stopped.

“I’ve gotta go!” he exclaimed into the phone before hanging up.

Luke snatched his umbrella and burst out the door as quickly as possible. When he exited the boys’ dorm, he was met with pouring sheets of rain that loudly dispersed onto the ground.

“Shit,” Luke whispered under his breath while opening the umbrella.

After about 5 minutes of searching, he honestly wasn’t sure if it’d be more of a relief to find Hana out here or to not find her. Regardless, as he approached the large tree on the outskirts of campus, he saw her. Sitting underneath the tree was his girlfriend, shriveled into a ball and sobbing into her knees. It was the most pitiful, heart-wrenching sight he had ever had to behold.

The worst part: it was his fault.

Luke cautiously approached the crying figure, placing his umbrella over her head. She didn’t even seem to notice his presence.

“Hana…”

The sobbing halted, and the girl gingerly lifted her head to look at the rapper. Luke felt like scum as he took in her puffy, red eyes and sopping wet clothes. He couldn’t even tell if the drops on her cheeks were tears or rain.

Once she realized who he was, she burst into tears again.

“Luke, I’m so sorry!”

She continued to bawl into her knees, breaking Luke’s heart even further. He didn’t deserve a girl like Hana. She should be mad at him. She should be yelling at him for exploding on her like that. She should hate him.

But that wasn't the case. Here she was, crying in the rain because she made a mistake and her boyfriend blew up at her.

“Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault,” Luke kneeled down and rubbed the top of her head. She really was soaking wet.

“Babe, let’s go inside. You’re gonna catch a cold at this rate,” he did his best to sound calm and comforting.

Hana shook her head, “It’s OK. I deserve it.”

“No, you don’t,” he took a seat next to her, carefully holding the umbrella above them, “You made an honest mistake, Hana. I’m the one in the wrong. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. I’m really sorry.”

Her violent sobs had morphed into uneven breaths with the periodic sniffle; however, she still didn’t respond.

“A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be crying over an asshole like me,” he attempted to make the tone more playful.

“You’re not an asshole,” she mumbled with another sniffle.

“Yeah I am,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, shocked by the intense cold seeping into his jacket, “Only an asshole would yell at his girlfriend for a mistake she made because she was so eager to support him.”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to the top of her head, “I love you, Hana.”

Slowly but surely, Hana lifted her head from her knees. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and released another sniffle; however, she was still avoiding eye contact.

“I love you too,” she whimpered.

Luke smiled sadly, “Well then let’s go inside. You’re seriously freezing.”

Hana nodded meekly, which prompted Luke to stand up and help her up as well. They walked back to the boys’ dorm, Luke gingerly holding the umbrella between them. Once they made it back to his room, he quickly grabbed some of his belongings and escorted her to the bathroom. After checking that no one was inside, he handed Hana one of his oversized T-shirts and a towel.

“Here, go ahead and take a shower, I’ll stand guard.”

She nodded shyly as she took the items and entered the bathroom. Luke sat outside the door as he waited, playing with his phone. He eventually decided it’d be good to call Mai and let her know Hana was OK.

It only took a single dial tone for Mai to answer.

“Luke! Is everything alright?”

The rapper nodded even though she couldn’t see him, “Yeah, everything is fine. Hana is gonna be spending the night with me, so I just wanted to let you know.”

“Oh, OK?” the red-head sounded skeptical, “Where was she?”

He responded with a sharp inhale, “Uh, maybe it’d be best for her to tell you that.”

“Mm-hmm…” he could practically hear Mai tapping her foot impatiently, “Did you do something I’m gonna have to beat you up for?”

“Er, hopefully not?”

Mai cleared her throat, “I’ll wait to hear from Hana, but consider your days numbered, Sizemore!”

Luke sighed, “Yes ma’am.”

“ThankYouForTakingCareOfHanaThoughGoodNight,” Mai rambled and immediately hung up.

The rapper couldn’t help but chuckle. Hana had this natural quality that made people want to protect her, and that was very apparent from how her friends acted.

“Luke?”

Startled, the boy looked up to see Ian standing in front of him.

“Oh hey, man, what’s up?” he smiled.

“What’s up with me?” Ian raised an eyebrow, “Why are you sitting outside the bathroom door?”

With a nervous chuckle, Luke rubbed the back of his neck.

“I kind of…. Fucked up.”

The moose looked at his roommate skeptically, but just as he was about to speak, Hana walked out the door.

“I’m all done-” she paused when she saw the two boys out in the hallway, “Oh hi, Ian.”

She gave a small smile and waved, seemingly only wearing Luke’s large t-shirt that fit her like a nightgown. They just stared back at her for a few moments.

Ian swiftly shifted his gaze to Luke, “By fucked up, you better not mean knocked up, you asshair.”

Luke’s face turned a bright red, “N-no! Nothing like that!”

He turned back to face his girlfriend, who just seemed slightly confused. As always, Hana lived in an innocent little bubble that no one had the courage to pop.

“Look,” the rapper glared at his smirking roommate, “I’ll explain everything later, but Hana’s gonna be sleeping over tonight, OK?”

Ian looked between the two of them and shrugged, “Fine with me. Can I go shower now?”

Luke nodded and grabbed Hana’s hand to rush back to their room, not wanting to raise any more suspicion if other people saw them. Once they were inside, the girl awkwardly stood in the middle of the room while he shut the door. When he turned back around, his face turned red again at the sight of his girlfriend wearing his clothes.

“Where do you want me to put the towel and wet clothes?” she asked.

The boy shook himself out of his trance, “Uh, you can just put them in the laundry bin over there.”

She did as she was told, “Thank you… for everything.”

“It’s no problem at all,” he assured, wrapping his arms around her waist.

Hana let out a small giggle, placing her hands on his chest. The couple exchanged gentle kisses, all the stress from earlier that night seeping away.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you,” Luke apologized, “I was just upset, and I know that’s no excuse-”

His words were cut off by another kiss being placed on his lips.

As she pulled away, Hana gave a sincere smile, “It’s OK. You don’t need to explain yourself. I understand, and I really appreciate the apology. I’m sorry too. I should’ve been more careful, and-”

Luke proceeded to cut her off in the same way she did for him.

“You don’t have to explain yourself either,” he whispered after releasing her lips.

Hana giggled as they happily embraced, both with big, goofy grins on their faces.

All of a sudden, the girl noticed something out of the corner of her eye.

“L-Luke! Isn’t that your song?! On your computer?!”

The rapper bit his lip. Now he really had some explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This set of chapters had a lot kissing, so I'm sorry about that (except not really). 
> 
> I feel like I've naturally started writing longer chapters, which hopefully isn't annoying, but honestly, just as a personal reflection, I've liked the chapters more as they go on. I tried to re-read the first few chapters of this, and they're just so boring like idk how you guys even got this far, but seriously, thank you so much to everyone who leaves comments and gives kudos. I get this warm, fuzzy feeling whenever I get a notification, and it just keeps me generally motivated. 
> 
> So thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I hope you all find a lucky penny on the ground or a $5 bill in your pants pocket. ^^


	19. Surprise

**Surprise**

“Are you not getting lunch?”

Ian shook his head as they sat at their usual table, “Of course not.”

Luke furrowed his brows, “What do you mean of course not? Why aren’t you getting lunch?”

“The same reason you aren’t getting any, dumbass.”

A genuine shocked expression adorned the rapper’s face, “Hana told you too?”

After giving him an “uh, duh” expression, Ian motioned towards the other members joining the group. All of them approaching with empty hands.

Luke was swarmed with confusion. He had received a text that morning from Hana asking him to not get anything for lunch that day. Since it was Valentine’s Day, he figured she had prepared a home-cooked meal just for the two of them. Giddiness filled Luke’s mind all morning as he thought about eating his girlfriend’s cooking. Once the lunch bell finally rang, Hana told Luke to wait for her in the cafeteria while she went to go grab the food.

However, it seemed that he wasn’t the only one who got the memo.

“I suspect we’re all here without food for the same reason,” speculated Jeff, taking his seat.

“That reason being a pink-haired member of ours who has us wrapped around her finger,” Caddy joked.

“Honestly though, she could literally tell us all not to get lunch just to fuck with us, and we would be none the wiser,” Wallid chimed in.

“But Hana would never do that,” Jimmy insisted before turning to Luke, “Speaking of Hana, are you two doing anything _special_ today?”

The guys cooed at the rapper tauntingly.

He blushed slightly, “Actually, I was thinking of taking her out to the movies tonight.”

Surprisingly, Luke was only given blank stares and agape mouths in response.

“What?" he asked, perplexed.

“That’s it?” Ian asked.

Luke nodded hesitantly.

“No no no, dude, you can’t be serious,” Wallid looked genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, man,” Jeff concurred, “You can take Hana out to the movies any day, but on Valentine’s Day, you have to do something different, you know?”

“Something memorable,” Jimmy added, all the other guys nodding in agreement.

Anxiety began to build inside of Luke, but before he could say anything, the topic of their conversation had arrived with large bags in her hands.

“Sorry, it took me a while!” she placed the bags on the table, slightly out of breath.

Cautiously, she pulled out 6 bento boxes, handing each one to the Hidden Block members. Once she was finished, she stood slightly away from the table and bowed to everyone.

“Happy Valentine’s Day! I know it’s different in the west, but it’s Japanese tradition for girls to give gifts to special boys in their lives on Valentine’s Day, and you’re all very special and important to me. I really hope you guys like it.”

She smiled shyly, her face tinting pink. Her sincerity filled the boys with warmth.

The guys opened their bentos and were met with fried octopus-shaped hot dogs, fruits cut into stars, and a bed of rice topped with a pickled radish cut to look like the hidden block symbol. A couple of them chuckled, while others “awwed” at the cute presentation of their lunches. Jimmy looked like he was about to cry tears of joy, and even Ian couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“This looks adorable, Hana, thank you!” exclaimed Jimmy.

Everyone showered her with thanks and appreciation, making her glow with happiness. She felt someone squeeze her hand and looked over to see her boyfriend grinning.

“This really does look amazing, babe. It’s so cute; I don’t think I’ll be able to eat it.”

Hana shook her head before squeezing his hand lovingly, “No, please eat it. I can always make more for you.”

The others started cooing and making kissy faces at them.

“I-I meant y-you GUYS! Yeah, I meant I can always m-make more for all of you,” she blushed furiously.

The guys laughed at her embarrassment. She knew they were just teasing her but couldn’t help feeling flustered.

“A-anyways,” she pulled out one final box from her bag that was wrapped in a purple bow, “th-this is for you.”

She bashfully handed it to Luke.

“Thank you, but why are you still standing?” he patted the seat next to him, “aren’t you gonna eat with us too?”

The pink-haired girl nodded, “Yeah, I just didn’t have enough boxes to make a lunch for myself, so I need to get a cafeteria tray.”

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, “I’ll be right back.”

With a wave, she skipped over to the lunch line, leaving the love-struck rapper with the box in his hand. He slowly untied the bow, the rest of Hidden Block leaning in with relentless curiosity. Once he lifted the lid, he felt his heart swell.

The contents of the box were hand-made chocolates in the shapes of hearts, music notes, and even little hidden blocks. Now Luke was the one who thought he was going to cry.

“No way, she made you chocolates?!” Jimmy practically squealed.

“Wow, she made you lunch _and_ chocolates without even making anything for herself. I’d say this is pretty _memorable_ ,” Caddy raised his eyebrows.

The other members simultaneously pretended to sip a cup of tea, making Luke groan.

“OK, OK, I get it. I’ll think of something better to do tonight.”

 

\-----------------------------------

 

He couldn’t think of anything.

He was doomed. Doomed to be the worst boyfriend ever because he couldn’t give his girlfriend a memorable Valentine’s Day.

Luke checked his watch for what felt like the millionth time. It was 6:30 PM. The day was slipping out of his fingertips.

“Can you please stop pacing?” Ian snarled at his roommate, “you’re making me dizzy.”

“Dude, you gotta help me,” Luke pleaded, clasping his hands together.

“If I come up with the idea, then it’s not really a gift from you now is it?” the moose pressed his lips together and lifted his eyebrows.

Sighing, the rapper plopped onto his bed in defeat.

With his signature eye roll, Ian spoke, “You like romance movies, don’t you? Why don’t you just use those as inspiration?”

Luke thought about it for a while, filtering through the various romantic scenes he could recall. Eventually, the hodge podge of ideas came together to create the perfect Valentine’s Day surprise.

With a burst of energy, Luke set to work on his project, running back and forth to gather materials and put the whole scene together. When everything was set, he noticed that the sky seemed darker, prompting him to check his watch. After seeing the time was 7:15 PM, he rushed back to his room while giving Hana a call.

“Hey Luke!” she answered sweetly.

“Hi Hana! Are you available in the next 15 minutes?”

“Um, uh, I suppose so? Why do you sound so out of breath?”

“No worries! I’ll come pick you up soon!”

He hung up as he excitedly bounded into his room to change into a white button-up with black slacks and matching black oxfords. Ian didn’t even spare his roommate a single glance through his sudden costume change. As soon as he was ready, Luke grabbed the bouquet of flowers he got at the Asagao convenience store and headed over to the girls’ dorm.

He knocked on the door while catching his breath, but once he saw his girlfriend, she took the last of his breath away. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder, knee-length, white, sparkly dress with ruffles along the trim. Her extensions, contacts, and light make-up were worn once again. She truly looked like a princess.

“H-hi Luke,” she blushed, only making her look even more angelic.

“H-hey,” he managed to utter before awkwardly pushing the bouquet towards her, “th-these are for you.”

Hana’s eyes twinkled as she gleefully accepted the bunch of irises.

“Thank you so much. They’re lovely.”

“You sure are,” he flirted, making his girlfriend giggle, “but honestly, how did you manage to get this whole look prepared so fast?”

“Mai insisted on getting me all dressed up earlier this evening, saying that you were surely going to ask me on a date tonight.”

“Because if he didn’t, I’d kill him!” Mai called out.

Hana shook her head, “Just know that you’re never obligated to take me out on a date, OK?”

Mai suddenly appeared behind her roommate, “Incorrect! This is basic couple etiquette!”

She grimaced at Luke before smiling cheerily at Hana, “I’ll put these in a vase for you, Hana!”

With that, she took the bouquet and pushed the pink-haired girl out the door with a wave.

“Have her back by 10!” she called out before shutting the door.

Hana chuckled nervously, “Sorry about that.”

Luke grinned, placing a kiss on the back of her hand, “Not at all. It’s natural for your best friend to have such high standards for someone as perfect as you.”

Hana felt like her heart was going to explode as her charming boyfriend locked arms with her to head downstairs. Once they stepped outside, Luke’s heart sank.

It was raining.

“No no no no no no,” he panicked, releasing Hana’s arm and sprinting out towards the field.

“Luke, wait!” she called out, chasing after him.

He couldn’t hear her over the sirens wailing in his head. His legs ran to the lone tree out in the field as fast as they could carry him and his desperation. Upon arrival, the sight of the ruined project struck pain into his chest. With rain trickling down his face, Luke dejectedly fell to his knees, all the adrenaline from earlier finally creeping up on him.

Hana eventually caught up to Luke and witnessed his failed plans. He had decorated the tree with fairy lights that all short-circuited. He had set up a table and two chairs with candles, flowers, and food, but the wind and rain had toppled them over. Lastly, there was an 80’s style stereo set-up by the tree, which, by some miracle, was still managing to play faint, warbled music.

Cautiously, Hana approached her boyfriend. She didn’t really know what to say, so she simply massaged his shoulder with one hand and stroked his hair with the other, paying no mind to the rain soaking her clothes and cascading down her skin.

“I’m so sorry, Hana,” he half-whispered.

“Sorry for what?” she asked.

He stood up and looked at her directly, “I’m sorry I ruined this Valentine’s Day. I just wanted to surprise you with something romantic. I was just gonna take you to the movies, but then you made such an amazing lunch and chocolates, and the guys said my idea wasn’t special enough, and I just couldn’t think of anything better. Then, when I finally came up with an idea…”

He paused, staring at his ruined set-up, “I couldn’t even make that go right.”

Hana looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights, blinking thrice before bursting into a fit of giggles. Luke’s ego stung until she wrapped him into an embrace.

“You’re so silly, Luke!” she exclaimed.

“I beg your pardon?” his voice still seethed with remorse.

She kissed his cheek, “Just the fact that you put all this together means so much to me. I truly am the luckiest girl in the world. I’d say you’ve done the exact opposite of ruin this Valentine’s Day. I’d say you’ve made it the most thoughtful, charming, romantic Valentine’s Day ever.”

Luke stared at her, in complete disbelief, “D-do you really think that?”

“Mm-hmm,” she smiled, “but just for future reference, you never have to be extravagant with me. I think going to the movies would have been a wonderful date too.”

“Although, Mai probably would’ve overdressed me for that occasion,” she joked.

He looked down at her soaking dress, “I’m sorry about your outfit. Let’s go inside.”

Luke attempted to pull Hana’s arm towards the school, but she simply pulled back. The rapper looked at his girlfriend with confusion as she shook her head.

“Why don’t we stay out here for a while?” she looked over towards the stereo, “There’s still some music playing. No use in wasting it.”

Her smile was somehow even more enchanting in the rain; Luke couldn’t help but grin back. With a bow, he took her hand in his.

“Would you care to dance Ms. Mizuno?”

Hana giggled while doing a curtsey, “It would be an honor.”

The couple pulled each other close into a slow dance, two rays of sunshine on a bleak and stormy night. Perhaps they would regret this decision when they have to deal with their wet clothes and potential sickness, but at this moment, just being alone in each other’s arms, was bliss at its finest.


	20. Twinkle

**Twinkle**

OK, Hana, just breathe.

In.

Out.

In.

In.

Shit, forgot out.

Hana placed her forehead onto the sink counter of the girl’s restroom. She could hear children shouting and laughing outside the door, enjoying the fresh, spring breeze on a gorgeously sunny Saturday. Oh, if only she could enjoy it with them.

Last week, every student in Asagao Academy was practically a walking carcass. Having just barely survived midterms, everyone was on their last legs, recuperating from seemingly endless all-nighters. At the next meeting, Jimmy proposed going on a beach excursion for a Hidden Block bonding vacation. Needless to say, everyone was ecstatic about escaping to the beach, except for Ian and Hana. Ian was… well he was just Ian, never particularly excited about anything. He kept mentioning how this was just the obligatory beach episode or something along those lines. Meanwhile, Hana did her best to look excited, but she couldn’t get rid of a thought in the back of her head.

She had to wear a swimsuit.

Hana had never been secure with how she looked, whether it be her hair, face, or body, but wearing something as revealing as a swimsuit was about as close to crossing the line as she could be without wanting to faint. When Mai heard the news, she instantly lit up and insisted on buying Hana new swimwear. After arguing about whether to buy a one-piece (Hana’s preference) or a bikini (Mai’s preference) for a solid 15 minutes, they eventually compromised with a trikini, which didn’t seem too bad to Hana until the moment she tried it on.

Now she was wallowing in embarrassment in the girl’s restroom at a beach resort because she was embarrassed of wearing a swimsuit in front of the guys. Other girls in much more revealing swimwear walked in and out, giving her weird looks. Could she be any more pathetic?

With another deep breath, she looked her reflection in the eyes.

You can do this, Hana.

It’s going to be way more embarrassing if you stay in the bathroom any longer.

Just go out there.

What would Mai do?

The pink-haired girl gave herself a determined nod before proudly strutting out the door, sunlight glistening off her aqua-colored trikini. She put her short hair into a small ponytail and basked in the sun’s rays, allowing the warmth to embrace her skin. Her anxieties slightly subsided as she gazed out at the sparkling ocean. After walking towards the shore, she could finally see her friends, swimming around, bursting with joy.

Luke was first to spot the shy girl. Upon seeing her, his eyes widened, a smile spreading across his face.

“Hana!” he called out as he began swimming to the shore.

“Hang on!” she called back, “You don’t have to come here! I’ll join you in a second!”

Quickly, she found her way to everyone’s towels and belongings, which wasn’t too hard considering a certain moose was laying down with them, in the shade of an umbrella.

“Are you not going to swim?” she asked him, placing her bag on one of the towels.

Ian shook his head, “Nope, I am much more content staying right here, doing nothing.”

Hana giggled while removing her glasses, “You never change, no matter the environment.”

“Good to see you’re catching on,” he retorted.

Hana stood up, but just as she was about to run to the sea, she remembered something.

“Shit, I forgot about sunscreen.”

Ian sat up and stretched his arms, “I’ve got some you can use, but you gotta help me put some more on too.”

“You really think you need any when you’re just gonna be laying in the shade all day, mister?”

“Believe me, Hana, if you knew what I looked like with a tan, you wouldn’t take any chances either,” he took out his bottle of sunscreen and shook it in front of her face, “Now, do you want some or not?”

She snatched the bottle out of his hand with a smirk, “Well, aren’t we demanding today?”

After they helped each other rub on sunscreen, Hana ran out to join the other guys in the ocean. Just as she was knee-deep in the water, Caddy approached her.

“You and Moosey finally done feeling each other up?” he teased.

Hana rolled her eyes with a smirk. Wow, she really was becoming Ian.

“Why? Jealous?” she asked tauntingly, making the Brit laugh.

“Maybe a little,” he said with a wink, taking a step closer.

She looked at him skeptically until he suddenly swept her off her feet.

“I got her!” he exclaimed before tossing her further into the ocean.

She squealed as she splashed into the water, but the impact of her descent was diminished by landing in Jeff’s arms as he sprang up.

“Huzzah!” he shouted, holding her bridal style, “We have captured the princess!”

“Unhand my fair maiden!” Luke called from further out into the water.

Hana giggled. Sometimes, she was convinced she was surrounded by children.

“Thou will have to catcheth us first, Prince Yungtown!” Jeff proclaimed, swimming away from the rapper and dragging Hana along with him.

“My loyal knights, Wallid and Jimmy, you must flanketh the kidnappers from the side!” Luke ordered the younger members.

The boys gave a firm salute before diving into the water and swimming over towards the two escapees. However, Caddy was quick to block their path and effortlessly picked them both up to toss them head first back into the ocean.

“Fucketh you,” Jimmy grumbled, as Wallid spit out some salt water.

Luckily, the distraction gave Luke the perfect opportunity to catch up to Jeff and steal his girlfriend back. He triumphantly held her against his chest. In the meantime, Jeff pretended to melt into the sea in defeat for some reason.

“My hero,” Hana whispered, giving Luke a kiss on the cheek.

“Tis the least I can do for the fairest in the land,” he joked as he gently placed her back down, “You look gorgeous, by the way.”

She blushed harshly, “R-really? I was so afraid of looking bad that I had to drag myself out of the bathroom.”

Despite how troubled she was earlier, just hearing one compliment from Luke made it all feel like a funny memory.

“What?” Luke kissed her nose, “I thought it was hot out here, but then I realized it was just you.”

Hana snorted, “Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s just actually hot.”

She glanced at his shirtless body and blushed once more, “but then again that could be you too.”

Luke grinned and leaned in to capture her lips with his. They embraced as their lips gently brushed against each other, each doing their best not to think about their bare skin touching. Then, all of a sudden, Jeff burst out of the water right next to them.

“Ow!” Hana yelped, covering her mouth.

When Jeff shocked them, Luke accidentally bit her lip.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Hana,” Luke tenderly examined her lower lip, brushing his thumb against it. Luckily, there was no sign of a blood.

The rapper grimaced at the soccer player who was doubled over in laughter.

“You proud of yourself?” he asked bitterly.

Jeff wiped a tear from his eye, “Yeah, a little.”

“I just wanted to provide a friendly reminder that this is supposed to be a Hidden Block bonding trip, not a couples bonding trip,” Jeff teased, eyes glancing over to Hana as a sly smile crept across his face.

“Unless of course, we could all get a turn,” he pulled the pink-haired girl towards him by her waist, making her blush instinctively, “What do you say, Han-?”

A large splash of water rained down on Jeff and Hana, interrupting the former’s prank.

“Oops, sorry, babe! I was just trying to hit Jeff,” Luke chuckled sheepishly.

Hana grimaced at him as water dripped from her hair, giving off the same energy as an angry kitten who just took a bath.

“I think we have some business to take care of, don’t we?” Jeff winked at Hana, who grinned mischievously.

“Yes, I think we do.”

Together, they both unleashed a storm of splashes onto the rapper, all laughing with delight. Soon, everyone else joined the splash fight, until it turned into an all-out splash war. Typical Hidden Block shenanigans commenced with over-the-top acting, words you never knew you could string together, and absurd sights you’d miss if you took a second to blink. The only thing missing was an argument between Caddy and Ian, but Hana was more than happy to have that omitted from the festivities.

Before long, Hana became exhausted, prompting Luke to carry her back to shore. Once they reached their towels, he carefully placed her down. Without hesitation, Hana plopped onto the towel next to Ian with a content sigh.

“Thank you for carrying me,” she said with a soft smile that made Luke’s heart flutter.

“Anytime,” he gave her a thumbs-up, “You want me to stay here with you?”

“Oh no!” she waved her hands back and forth, “You don’t have to stay on my account. Go play with the guys some more; I can just relax here.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, but it was clear he wanted to go swim some more.

Hana nodded happily. After a quick peck on the lips, Luke headed back out to sea.

With a content sigh, the girl spoke, “You been doing alright, Ian?”

She was met with no response. Turning on her side, she slowly pulled his sunglasses back to reveal his closed eyes.

“Of course you’re asleep,” she chuckled, returning the glasses to their former place.

Ian was a notoriously heavy sleeper, and he slept often too. Hana pouted, feeling more lonely knowing that he wouldn’t be awake anytime soon. However, as she gazed across the sand, an idea popped into her head.

With her hands formed into little cups, she began pushing sand on top of Ian’s legs until they were covered completely. Over time, she worked her way up the rest of his body. Eventually, the boy became a cocoon of sand with only his face sticking out. Hana giggled as she pulled out her phone to take a picture.

Suddenly, she heard a familiar laugh behind her.

“Looks like you’ve been busy,” Luke joked as he hugged her from behind.

“Perhaps,” she responded, leaning her head against his, “are you guys done already?”

“Yeah, the guys went to the restaurant over there to get food. Do you wanna go with them?”

Hana shook her head, “Nah, I’m actually not really hungry, but you can go get something to eat if you’d like. Don’t worry about me.”

Luke sat down next to the pink-haired girl, “I’d much rather stay here with you.”

“Are you sure?” she tilted her head to the side, “I don’t want to hold you back if you’re hungry.”

The rapper grinned as he stroked her hair, “Nah, I can get food anytime, but being able to cuddle my girlfriend on the beach while watching the sunset isn’t something I get to do everyday.”

Hana blushed, looking over towards the ocean. The sky became an orange hue, making the ocean turn a pastel purple. The silhouettes of seagulls floated across the glowing sun as the waves lapped gently against the sand. It was truly a beautiful sight.

Luke put his arm around Hana’s shoulders, and she leaned her head into the crook of his neck. The couple gazed out at the sea, filled with warmth and love. She turned to look at her boyfriend and was left in awe at the sight of him. His charming smile paired with his twinkling eyes against the watercolor backdrop. He couldn’t have possibly been more attractive than at that moment.

“How are you so gorgeous?” she thought aloud, quickly covering her mouth as he turned to look at her.

Luke chuckled, “What was that?”

“F-forget I said anything. Ugh, I’m so awkward,” she buried her face into her knees, embarrassed.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head, “God, you’re adorable.”

Hesitantly, she looked up at her boyfriend who was smiling as wide as ever. Luke leaned in and Hana followed, but just as their lips touched, a voice interrupted.

“Would either of you fuckfaces like to explain how I got in this mess?” Ian growled, finally awake.

Neither of them could hold back their smiles after looking at the irritated moose.

As the couple dug their friend out of the sand, their gleeful laughter could be heard across the beach. The ocean sparkled one last time as the sun finally tucked itself away, but despite the twinkling sea’s disappearance, twinkling stars took its place, just as the teens’ joyful spirits were renewed once more.


	21. United

**United**

“Players! To your machines!”

The announcer’s voice boomed through the speakers as cheers and smatterings of applause spread throughout the arcade. It was finally the day of the game tournament. Luke honestly hadn’t been practicing as adamantly as he should’ve been throughout the year, but he had been practicing hardcore these past 2 weeks.

He stepped up to the pinball machine at the same time as his opponent, PBG. The two competitors looked at each other straight in the eyes and smiled at one another for the first time in a while. Ever since Luke started dating Hana, things had become tense between the two boys. Although neither of them ever discussed their feelings towards her, they were very apparent. The rapper’s chest tightened at the innocent smile of his former best friend. They used to be so close, but now-a-days they felt like mere acquaintances. Of course, Luke didn’t blame PBG in the slightest. It would’ve been difficult for him too if Hana had ended up falling for the soccer player instead.

“You can do it, Luke!”

He turned his head to see his girlfriend jumping and waving at him in the back of the crowd. Her smile filled him with pride and confidence, but as he turned to look back at PBG, those emotions faded away. While there was still a faint grin on his face, PBG’s eyes were void of emotion as he watched the pink-haired girl cheer for his opponent.

“Please shake hands,” the announcer requested.

Luke held out his hand with a reassuring smile and PBG reluctantly followed. Guilt began to eat away at the former as he turned to face the pinball machine. With the shake of his head, he shifted his focus. It was game time.

“And you may begin!”

Hands darted to the knobs to shoot off the first ball. Both players strategically paddled their balls into various slots and dynamically colored gizmos. Lights and sound effects erupted from both machines, leaving the crowd in awe at the staggering speed their scores were climbing. Luke’s eyes darted in all directions, but he took a moment to glance at the scores. He was in the lead by a safe margin!

Feeling a sense of security, his body relaxed, and he focused more on accuracy and less on speed. However, a sudden siren wailed from PBG’s machine. He had found a secret cranny in which to send his ball, making his score practically quadruple. Luke went from a comfortable lead to a pitiful defeat in no time at all. Distracted, his last ball fell into the drain, ending the match entirely.

The crowd erupted into an excited frenzy at PBG’s seemingly impossible victory, leaving the rapper feeling like an empty husk. How could the tables have turned so quickly?

“And the winner of the pinball tournament is… PBG of Normal Boots!”

More cheers. Luke hesitantly looked over at his old friend who seemed equally as shocked as he was excited.

Their eyes met once again, and, surprisingly, both held their hands out at the same time.

“Good game, man,” Luke said as they shook hands.

“You too,” PBG still had a sense of awkwardness in his voice, but it was a huge improvement since the last time they talked, “You really had me for most of the game.”

“I guess,” the rapper shrugged, “but I still lost in the end.”

Just then, Hana ran up and gave Luke a big hug.

“You did an awesome job,” she exclaimed encouragingly, “and congratulations, PBG! You were really impressive.”

She snuggled further into her boyfriend’s chest, making him chuckle.

PBG thanked her and sighed before looking at Luke, “Looks more like you won in the end if you ask me.”

With a quick wave, the soccer star jogged off to join the other Normal Boots members, leaving a stunned Luke and confused Hana behind.

“What was he talking about?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he looked down at the girl by his side and smiled as he stroked her head, “He was just reminding about what really matters.”

 

\-----------------------------------

 

“And the winners of the 2015 annual video game tournament are… the Normal Boots Club!”

The members of Hidden Block clapped and cheered for their friends as they all entered the stage and gave their acceptance speech. Although he was happy for them, Luke kept feeling shame in the pit of his stomach. If only he had won, then maybe it’d be his team up there on that stage.

As Normal Boots finished up their speech, all of Hidden Block looked at one another.

“I’m sorry guys,” the rapper sighed.

“Sorry? For what?” Jeff inquired.

“For losing. I should’ve practiced more…” he trailed off.

The boys started laughing hysterically.

“Come on, I lost too!” said Jimmy.

“And me,” added Wallid.

“We win some; we lose some,” Ian shrugged, “It’s no one’s fault.”

“Yeah!” Jeff exclaimed, “We ride or die as a team!”

He put his hand in the middle of the group, and all the members followed suit until only Ian and Luke were left out.

“Are we really doing something as cliche as this?” the moose asked.

“Don’t be a stick in the mud, moosey,” Caddy flashed a genuine smile at Ian, which caught him so off-guard that he moved his hand into the middle without even thinking about it.

Luke felt invigorated as all of his friends grinned at him. He was so lucky to have met such amazing people in Hidden Block; he wouldn’t trade any of them for the world.

As soon as the rapper joined the group hand pile, they all lifted their hands up in unison with a cheer, their melodic laughter floating throughout the arcade.

“Let’s go get something to eat!” Jimmy suggested, “I’m starving.”

The members murmured in agreement as they started heading out the door, but just as he started to follow, Luke’s eyes landed on the Normal Boots Club, all of them happily chatting amongst themselves.

“Aren’t you coming?” Hana asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah,” he squeezed her hand gently, “I’ll catch up with you guys in a sec, OK?”

The girl nodded before running after the others. With a deep breath, Luke approached his target.

“Hey PBG,” he waved shyly.

The scruffy-haired brunette turned to look at the rapper, “H-hey, Luke. What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if you’d like to get together sometime,” he smiled awkwardly, “It’s been a while since we’ve hung out, you know?”

PBG blinked in shock, his lips forming a small “o” before morphing into a bright smile, “Yeah… I’d like that.”

The boys bumped fists and high-fived, just like they used to, filling Luke with a nostalgic sense of joy.

“I’ll text you later then?” PBG added, still a bit sheepish.

“Sounds good.”

Luke gave a quick salute before heading out the door, beaming at the thought of his rekindled friendship. At that moment, Luke realized just how good he had it. He had amazing club-mates, an awesome roommate, the perfect girlfriend, and now he’s on his way to getting his old best friend back.

Perhaps PBG was right, he really did win in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was more of a PeanutButterTown chapter (I have zero clue what their actual ship name is), but I really enjoyed writing it ^^ It helps balance out the BrutalFlower chapters in this anthology a bit lol.


	22. Voice

**Voice**

“Remind me again why you wanted to go on a date in the recording studio.”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck, “You know, just so we can be alone?”

Hana raised an eyebrow, making him nervous, but her skeptical expression quickly turned into a small smile.

“I guess we don’t get a lot of alone time these days,” she gently rubbed the back of his hand.

Triumphant, Luke nodded happily.

The two students were currently sitting inside of Asagao’s recording studio, where Luke often recorded his songs and PBG and Jon often recorded their radio show, PB&J. They were each sitting on a chair, and Luke had brought in a small table, which held a couple snacks.

“I’m so used to looking at this room from the outside whenever you’re recording,” the girl scanned her surroundings, “It’s so weird to see it from the inside. I feel like I’m inside the set of my favorite sitcom or something.”

Luke chuckled, “That’s crazy because this place feels so normal to me since I record here so often. Speaking of music, what have you been listening to lately?”

Hana blinked at the odd, sudden change of topic, “Um, well, I’ve been listening to your songs of course.”

The rapper blushed, “You’re so sweet… Anything else?”

With the tilt of her head, she furrowed her brows. It seemed he was looking for her to say something specific, but she couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Well… I’ve been listening to a new release from a group called Thrice. Have you heard of them?”

Luke’s expression lit up, “Hmmmm… I’m not sure. How does the new song go?”

He leaned forward expectantly, stars twinkling in his eyes.

“Oh, I can play it real quick from my phone,” she reached down to grab her bag, but her boyfriend snatched her wrist in the blink of an eye.

“Wait!” he exclaimed, making her eyes widen, “Th-there’s no need to do that. Why don’t you just… sing it?”

The girl couldn’t have been any more perplexed at Luke’s behavior.

“Wouldn’t you rather just hear the actual song?”

The rapper shook his head, “I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to hear it. It’s just uh… th-the frequencies! Yeah, playing a song from like a phone or another electronic device inside the recording studio can mess up the equipment."

Hana narrowed her eyes at him, “Okay… well I can just plug it into the equipment outside so it can play inside the booth.”

As soon as she got off her chair, the rapper became frazzled.

“N-no!” he spouted frantically.

“...why not?”

“Because…” his eyes darted away from hers as he bit his lip, “I’ll get lonely?”

He looked back at her face, which was now riddled with annoyance, “You’re… usually in here alone though?”

“I-I know that, it’s just…” he racked his brain for something logical to say, but nothing came to mind.

“Luke,” Hana held his arm, “do you want to tell me what’s really going on?”

Electricity was flying inside the rapper’s mind, desperately trying to think of an excuse, but as he looked at his girlfriend’s concerned face, the gears in his head slowed.

With a sigh, he responded, “Truthfully, I was hoping to record your singing.”

She put her hand on her chest, taken aback, “M-my singing?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I’ve been mulling over some of the instrumentals and effects for my next song, but I just couldn’t find the right sound clip.”

With a gulp, he continued, “but then I overheard you singing to yourself in the clubroom last night as I was heading back to the dorm, and your voice was exactly what I was looking for.”

Hana blushed at the thought of being overheard, “R-really? But w-why didn’t you just ask me to sing for your track then?”

“You’re just usually so shy; I thought you wouldn’t want to do it…” he trailed off, embarrassed.

Just then, she kissed his cheek and gave a sincere smile, “You’re right... I am shy, but... I always want to do whatever I can to help you, even if it means stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit.”

Luke grinned, placing a kiss on her forehead, “Th-that means a lot to me. Thank you.”

“Of course.”

The two of them shared a quick peck before Hana headed back to her seat.

“So I guess that explains why the mic is so close to my chair then,” she giggled.

Luke chuckled in response, still a bit embarrassed of his set-up.

“S-so do I just sing into the mic then?”

He gave a thumbs up, eager to hear her voice again.

Hana took a deep breath and opened her mouth to sing but then shyly covered her face with her hair.

“S-sorry, it’s just so much harder to sing in front of you than I thought…”

Luke leaned in close to her face. Once she felt his presence, she hesitantly looked at him, observing his endearing grin.

“You don’t have to be nervous,” he said soothingly, “you’re perfect.”

Her cheeks became red once more, but she couldn’t stop her lips from curving into a smile. Luke always made her feel like she could do anything.

She gave two thumbs-up, “OK, let’s try again!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, a 4 chapter update! This means that the next update will be my last one before this fic officially ends. :'( However, I'm already brain storming what fic I want to start afterwards, so it won't be the last you'll hear from me! (which may or may not be good thing lmao)
> 
> I know I always say this, but writing this has been so much fun, and I especially enjoy reading what everyone thinks about the chapters or the parts that they enjoyed, so a big thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings ^^
> 
> I hope you all have a fantastic summer!


	23. Wedding

**Wedding**

“Come on, babe, please?”

Hana pressed her lips together as she stared down her boyfriend’s adorable pout.

“Nooooo,” she groaned, “We got burgers last week.”

Luke stuck his lower lip out further.

“And the week before that!” she continued, not backing down.

With a sigh, he rolled over, “I know, but they’re really good burgers, aren’t they?”

Hana exhaled with a small smile, “Yeah, but can’t we go to a ramen shop or something? I just want some variety.”

With a sly grin, the rapper pulled her face up to his own.

“But why get something else when you already have,” he kissed her nose, “perfection.”

She giggled and rolled her eyes, “Don’t be like that. My philosophy on food and my philosophy on dating are not interchangeable.”

He shrugged, “Eh, it was worth a shot.”

The couple laughed together, lying under the shade of their favorite tree in the grassy fields of Asagao Academy. The wafting aroma of the diverse flora perfectly complemented the warm caress of the beaming sunlight. The world felt at peace, that is except for the duo’s dinner debate.

“OK, how about this?” Luke sat up, “let’s make a bet.”

The pink-haired girl sat up as well, “What kind of bet?”

“I bet…” he paused for dramatic effect, “that I can make you laugh before you can make me laugh.”

“No way,” she groaned, “you’re just gonna tickle me.”

The rapper shook his head as he held his hands up in self-defense, “Tickling doesn’t count.”

Hana narrowed her eyes at him. Surely he had something up his sleeve, but she didn’t know what it could be. Regardless, she was pretty confident in her ability to hold back laughter as long as she wasn’t being tickled.

“Fine, you’re on.”

The two of them shook hands and proceeded to stare each other down suspiciously for a few seconds.

“Is this a staring contest now?” Luke grinned.

Hana bit her lip, holding back her desire to giggle, “Nope.”

“That’s too bad,” he laid back down, “I could stare at you all day.”

“Oh please,” she joined him on the ground and snuggled up to him, “you can hardly listen to the same song for more than 2 minutes before changing it.”

As he put his arm around his girlfriend’s figure, he placed a gentle kiss on her temple, “You’re better than any song though.”

A blush crept onto her cheeks, “You’re supposed to make me laugh, not blush.”

Luke held back his desire to chuckle at how cute she was, “I know, but I can’t help it. I just say whatever comes to mind.”

This only made her face turn a deeper shade of red. A short silence followed as Hana attempted to steady her racing heartbeat.

“What’s your favorite candy?” Luke asked out of literally nowhere.

The girl blinked a few times. Was this random outburst supposed to have some sort of punchline?

“Uhhh… cotton candy?”

“That makes total sense,” he twirled a strand of her hair on his index finger, “your hair looks just like it.”

She gave him a blank-faced stare, “Wow. Hysterical.”

Luke puffed up his cheeks, desperately holding back a laugh that was about to explode out of him. Luckily, he was able to swallow it back down before any of it was released.

“Aw man, I almost had you,” she pouted in defeat.

Luke kissed her nose, “Well played, babe, but mark my words, I’ll be victorious.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, “We’ll see about that.”

The two of them cuddled closer, smiles adorning both of their faces.

“Maybe we should keep the questions going,” Hana thought aloud, “What’s _your_ favorite candy?”

“I’m not a huge fan of candy honestly,” the rapper shrugged.

“OK, what about your favorite sweet food?” she asked.

“Oh definitely cake.”

“What do you mean cake? Cake can taste like so many things.”

“Yeah, but it’s always good.”

Hana held back another giggle, “OK, well you have to at least have a favorite _type_ of cake.”

“Oh, cheesecake, hands down,” Luke answered instantaneously.

With a smirk, she spoke, “Why didn’t you just specify cheesecake in the first place?”

“Well I want you to know that I will eat any sort of cake at any time. I'm not exclusive.”

The girl desperately wanted to laugh at how cute and silly he was being.

“What about you?” he asked, “What’s your favorite cake?”

“Oh my God,” she gazed up at the sky, her mind blurring into a distant memory, “when I was little, I tried this amazing red velvet cake. It was seriously the best dessert I’ve ever had. It was at a wedding for one of my family members.”

“Ooohh, that’s a good one!” Luke interjected, earning a quizzical look from his girlfriend, “What’s your dream wedding?”

She furrowed her brows, “I don’t think I’ve ever thought about it.”

“Whaaaaat?” his expression was so genuinely shocked that Hana couldn’t help feeling a sense of surprise herself, “I thought all girls had this planned out.”

“I guess I just had other things on my mind,” she shrugged.

“Well, plan it now then,” Luke nudged her, “What would your dream wedding be like?”

She thought for a moment as she sat up and stretched, “I don’t know… maybe… on the beach?”

Luke sat up and stared at her, “...that’s it?”

“Hey, I’d need time to think about it, OK?” she pouted at him, which only made him pinch her cheek, “Why? Do you have yours all planned out?”

“Yup!” he stood up, “My dream wedding would be in a concert hall.”

He held the palm of his hand out towards the sun, “There would be a spotlight shining down on us.”

Luke snapped his fingers, “Music would be playing. It’d be calming yet upbeat at the same time, not any of that traditional junk.”

He looked back towards the academy, “All our friends and family would be there: smiling, crying, cheering.”

Suddenly, he whipped around and held out his hand to help Hana stand up, “My soon-to-be wife would look stunning in her wedding dress.”

Hana blushed pink as she stood but quickly turned red once Luke brought his longing gaze right next to her face.

“I would look her straight in the eyes and say-”

He took a step forward when their faces were already mere inches apart, forcing her to take a step backwards.

“From this day forward-”

He took another step forward.

“For better or for worse-”

She took another step back.

“For richer or for poorer-”

He kept going forward.

“In sickness and in health-”

She kept going backward.

“To love and to cherish-”

Her back hit the tree trunk.

“Till death do us part-”

He firmly placed his palms on the tree by both sides of her head, trapping her.

“I pledge myself to you, Hana Mizuno.”

Luke brought his face closer. Completely entranced, Hana closed her eyes and felt her whole body shiver as his lips captured hers. Still in a daze, she carefully removed his cap and wove her fingers into his hair. Luke smiled into the kiss as he caressed her cheek and pushed her body further against the tree. With their weight balanced onto the tree, he deepened the kiss and took both of her hands in his, pinning them against the trunk. Hana released a small gasp, making Luke smirk into her lips. She couldn’t help but worry that making out on the outskirts of Asagao Academy was a sure-fire way to get in trouble, but her worries blurred more and more as time pushed forward, each brush between their lips more addictive than the last.

Eventually, Luke pulled back, allowing them both to get some air. As they looked at each other, short of breath, Hana did what she naturally does in any awkward, unfamiliar situation.

She giggled.

Realization dawned on her as Luke’s grin grew wider and wider.

“Damn it!” she exclaimed as her boyfriend pumped his fists into the air.

“What did I tell you?” he teased, doing a silly dance, “I told you I’d be victorious.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” her mouth was agape, truly exasperated, “Was that seriously all just for the sake of making me laugh?”

“No,” he winked at her, “It was just practice for our real wedding.”

Hana scoffed but couldn’t help blushing some more. She spotted Luke’s cap on the ground and picked it up, brushing off any dirt on it.

“Something tells me our friends and family wouldn’t want to watch us... do what we just did,” she couldn’t bring herself to say the words “make-out.”

“Really? I think they’d find it fun,” Luke laughed heartily as Hana threw his hat at him in a fit of embarrassment.

“You’re so lucky I love you,” she teased him as he put the cap back on his head.

“Yup, that fact alone makes me the luckiest guy in the world,” he giggled as he embraced her, happy to be able to laugh freely again.

She squeezed his torso in return, also giggling with delight. As they pulled back, Luke grabbed her hand.

“Come on, let’s go get some ramen.”

Hana’s eyes widened, “What? But you won the bet. Don’t you want burgers?”

Luke snickered.

“Nah, we had burgers last week.”


	24. Xenophobia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter deals with some sensitive topics, so if things such as racism and xenophobia are very triggering for you, feel free to skip reading the chapter and go down the notes at the end.

**Xenophobia**

It was all going so well.

The airplane ride was fine.

The taxi ride was fine.

Meeting the parents was fine.

Exploring the city was fine.

Hana looked at herself in the mirror and sniffled as she wiped away any remaining mascara smears off her cheeks.

Yet somehow, everything was not fine.

It was summer break, and Luke had invited Hana to go visit his family back in the states. She had never flown in a plane before and had only ever been in Japan, so the idea of leaving to a country on the other side of the world was incredibly anxiety-inducing. Not to mention, meeting her boyfriend’s parents was equally as terrifying. However, the idea of being able to travel with her amazing boyfriend superseded her fears. If there’s anything Luke has taught her, it’s that everything would be OK as long as they were together.

The plane flight actually wasn’t bad at all. The initial lift-off had her squeezing Luke’s hand nervously, but once they were in the air for a while, all her nerves relaxed. As soon as they were able to step off the plane, Hana’s heart was soaring with excitement. She was in America! This was insane!

The couple took a taxi to Luke’s house, where his mom was quick to embrace him.

“Stop, mom, you’re embarrassing me,” the rapper grumbled with a blush.

The woman rolled her eyes with a warm smile, “What a kind greeting from my son when I haven’t seen him in a year.”

She kissed his forehead, making him blush further with embarrassment. Hana giggled at how cute he was being.

The lady locked eyes with the pink-haired girl and smiled even brighter, “This must be your girlfriend you’ve told me so much about!”

Without hesitation, his mother pulled Hana into a big hug. Although shocked, Hana couldn’t help but beam with happiness as she returned the embrace.

Instinctively, the girl bowed, “It’s so nice to meet you. My name is Hana Mizuno. Thank you so much for letting me stay.”

The woman giggled and awkwardly bowed in return, “Oh, it’s no problem at all! You’re always welcome here!”

The mom turned to her son, “Goodness, Luke! Sometimes I forget you came back all the way from Japan. I should’ve studied up on customs or something.”

Hana waved her hands back and forth as her face turned red, “Oh no! Sorry, that was just force of habit.”

She chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Oh my, Luke, she really as adorable as you say!” the mother exclaimed.

“Mom!” Luke desperately wanted to skip past the “getting embarrassed by my parents” part.

“Is that my son out here?” a hearty voice boomed.

A man came out of the house and hugged Luke before glancing over at the taxi.

“Are you really just going to keep the taxi driver waiting? He gets paid for every minute you leave him there, you know?” the man nagged as he went to get the luggage.

Luke rolled his eyes. They had been at the house for less than 5 minutes, and he was already getting lectured.

“Honey,” the woman called to her husband, “aren’t you going to say ‘hello’ to Luke’s girlfriend?”

The man stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the pink-haired girl, who mentally slapped herself as she bowed on instinct yet again.

“Oh, hello there, uh…” he held his hand out to her, “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to remember your name.”

“H-hana Mizuno,” she said as she shook his hand, “It’s very nice to meet you.”

The man nodded with a small grin before releasing his grip to get the bags. He seemed to be a very one-track mind sort of person.

“Oh don’t mind him, Hana,” the mother grabbed her shoulders, “he just can’t relax until everything is just as he wants it. Please come inside! I made some cookies for you both!”

The rest of the day went swimmingly. Both of Luke’s parents were very hospitable towards the young girl, always attempting to make casual conversation. Although she was nervous about making a good first impression, Hana felt generally comfortable. Later that evening, Luke took his girlfriend for a stroll through downtown, where she got to see all sorts of cool shops and restaurants. He took her to his favorite burger joint for dinner, and her eyes lit up at the sight of her first American burger. The sheer size of it was astounding, and Luke couldn’t help but relish in how adorable her excitement over the food item was.

Once they returned to Luke’s house, everything was rather quiet. It seemed the parents had gone to sleep. The rapper suggested playing a couple rounds of _Undercooked_ in his room to which Hana happily agreed. After playing for a little under an hour filled with fun and laughter, Hana stood up.

“Where’s the bathroom?”

Luke pointed to the door of his bedroom, “Go left once you go out the door and it should be the third door on your right.”

She nodded and followed his directions, but upon arriving at her destination, she heard voices.

“Why didn’t you tell me she was coming?”

Hana stopped right in front of the supposed door to the bathroom and listened.

“I… I’m sorry. I just… didn’t want Luke to be unhappy.”

The conversation was coming from the kitchen, which was only a few steps further down the hallway. Luckily, the pink-haired girl was out of sight, but the sound of Luke’s parents’ voices were loud and clear.

“But you know how I feel about people like her,” the father grunted, as the sound of a soda can being opened echoed through the hall.

Oh no… was it her hair again?

The mother sighed, “You know Luke goes to school in Japan, right?”

The sound of palms slamming the counter rang through the air.

“And that means it’s OK for him to bring a chink home?!”

Hana’s heart stopped.

This was worse. Somehow, this was so much worse.

The wife shushed him before whisper-shouting, “This is the first time Luke has ever wanted to bring a girl here! He must really care about her! Don’t you care about our son?!”

“Of course I care about our son!” he hissed back, “which is why I want the best for him, and the best isn’t going to be some Jap he picked up off the streets.”

With silent, uneven breaths, Hana felt the world around her crumble.

“She leaves tomorrow, and I don’t want to see her or any other girl of her kind in this home ever again.”

“What?!” the woman couldn’t keep whispering anymore, “Her plane ticket back home isn’t until next week!”

“I’ll buy her one for tomorrow. It’s not like she isn’t already freeloading anyway.”

Hana’s head was spinning. She felt on the verge of collapsing.

“I already offered to let her stay for the week. Do you know how upset they’re both going to be?” the wife seemed on the verge of tears.

“My decision is final,” the man’s voice was devoid of emotion.

“What am I supposed to tell them the reason is for Hana leaving tomorrow?” the mother half-sobbed.

“Quite frankly, I don’t care what you tell them,” the man spoke without any reaction to his wife’s tears, “but I know you like to save face, so I’ll let you come up with the excuse. That is unless… you want me to be the one to do it.”

The wife sobbed openly as the man’s footsteps approached the hallway. Panicked, Hana quickly flung open the door to the bathroom and closed it as quietly as she could. Her heart raced as she listened to the dad’s footsteps come closer before going further away.

Yup, everything had been going _too_ well. Perhaps, this was inevitable. Hana couldn’t just be happy. That would be too simple.

Now she was slumped over in the bathroom, attempting to recompose her emotions as she figured out a plan, but nothing came to mind.

At this point, her breaths had become more steady, and she had already cleaned off any signs of tears from her face. The only evidence of her episode was her red eyes and puffy face, but she figured the darkness of Luke’s room would be enough to mask that.

Hesitantly, Hana exited the bathroom and walked back to her boyfriend’s bedroom. Much to her relief, no one else seemed to be in the vicinity. With a deep breath, she opened Luke’s door and stepped inside.

He was playing on his phone when she entered, “Hey babe, is everything-”

He paused as she closed the door. Even though the only light in the room was from his TV, he could still recognize the aftermath of crying on Hana’s face.

“What’s wrong?” he quickly put his phone down and approached his girlfriend, gently grabbing onto her shoulders and gazing into her eyes.

His genuine concern pained the girl as she forced a smile onto her face, “Nothing’s wrong.”

He furrowed his brows, clearly not buying it, but Hana persisted with the fake smile, not willing to back down. Despite the awkward tension in the air, neither one said a word for a couple of seconds.

Eventually, Hana sighed, “Luke, I’m sorry.”

The rapper blinked a few times, attempting to make sense of what she was saying, “Why are you sorry?”

“I’m sorry that...” she looked straight into his eyes, “I have to leave tomorrow… to go back to Japan.”

Luke’s eyes widened, the shock on his face making her heart ache.

“What? Why? Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head.

“No. You didn’t do anything wrong. What’s wrong is...” Hana couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer, “me. I’m what’s wrong.”

She sobbed into the chest of an absolutely puzzled Luke, who naturally held her close and rubbed her head.

“Babe, what do you mean? Please talk to me…”

Hearing this only made her cry harder. What was she supposed to tell him?

_Luke, your father is a raging racist who’s going to kick me out tomorrow, and we’re never going to be allowed to see each other again._

There’s no way she could just say that! She couldn’t be the source of a family falling apart. She’d never be able to forgive herself. 

“I can’t explain,” she said in between sobs, “I’m so sorry.”

Luke’s brain was going haywire. What in the world was going on?

He felt so helpless as he carefully led her to his bed. They laid down together, and Luke held Hana close against his chest, letting her cry. He was honestly on the verge of tears too; he had never seen her so destroyed, especially not so suddenly.

They simply stayed like this for a while with Luke occasionally requesting Hana to explain, but she would only shake her head and continue to cry. It was the most frustrating and heart-breaking thing he ever had to deal with. He desperately wished there was something he could do beyond just cuddling her as she wept, but he didn’t even know what the problem was.

Eventually, her sobs turned into steady breaths. Luke glanced down and felt his heart shatter as he saw that Hana had cried herself to sleep. After giving a gentle kiss to the top of her head, he got up, pulled his blanket over her, and turned off the TV. He then proceeded to join her under the covers and observed her now peaceful expression. He cupped his palm onto her cheek and wiped tear streaks from her face before planting another kiss on it.

Turning to lay on his back, Luke closed his eyes, but he couldn’t stop the cogs in his brain from spinning at full speed. What happened? Why was she like this all of a sudden? What was she talking about? Where did all of this come from?

He reached out his arm to hold her hand and sighed, his only solace being the fact that, at this moment, she was right here by his side.

 

\-------------------------------------

 

Luke had barely slept a wink when his eyes opened the next morning. Much to his relief, his girlfriend was still sound asleep next to him. Overcome with emotion at the thought of last night, he embraced her and pressed his face into her hair, inhaling her scent. A tiny groan escaped Hana’s lips as she began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open to lock onto Luke’s. For a couple seconds, they just stared at each other, Hana slowly processing where she was and what happened. As it all came flooding back to her, she blushed and quickly got up to get ready for the day.

The couple wordlessly changed clothes, brushed their teeth, and styled their hair. The rapper seriously wanted to address the events of last night, but he was too afraid that would just make her spiral back into an emotional wreck. Frustration had left him mute and fuming, but Hana simply kept her mouth closed, eyes hollow, devoid of feeling.

As they entered the kitchen for breakfast, Luke’s mom was present, frying some eggs.

“Good morning!” she exclaimed upon spotting the two teens, “Goodness, you two don’t look so good.”

“It’s nothing,” Luke assured with a heavy tone, “We just didn’t sleep too well.”

Hana nodded meekly.

The mother looked puzzled but continued to speak, “Well, I’m afraid I might just have to make things worse for you.”

She placed a plate of eggs and hashbrowns in front of each of them before explaining.

“I looked into the weather for Japan, and it looks like there’s going to be a pretty intense series of storms starting tomorrow.”

With a pause, she looked at her son, who didn’t seem to understand.

“So I think it would be best, for Hana’s safety, if she returned today, before the bad weather hits.”

Luke’s eyes widened as his head whipped to look at his girlfriend. Her expression didn’t change at all. She simply nodded in understanding before taking a bite of her eggs.

Did she know about this? Was this why she was crying so much? No… she mentioned something about it all being her fault. But Hana can’t change the weather. And how did his mom conveniently want Hana to fly back to Japan today, just like Hana claimed would happen last night?

Overflowing with questions, he slammed his fists on the table, forcing the utensils and plates to clank against each other. The girls looked up at him, surprised.

“I want answers, damn it!” his breath was hot and heavy, seething with rage.

“Wh-what do you mean?” his mother asked.

He looked at Hana, who shook in fear. Seeing this made him calm down slightly, but he wasn’t about to let all of this slide.

“I don’t care which one of you does it, but one of you has to tell me what’s going on,” Luke pleaded, “How come Hana came to me in tears last night, claiming she’d have to leave today, and my mother just happened to mention the same fact this morning? Don’t tell me this is all just coincidence!”

His mom’s mouth dropped open as she shifted her gaze to Hana. The pink-haired girl still didn’t speak, but she sent a message with her eyes.

_“I know what happened. I’m sorry.”_

The older woman gulped as she placed a dirty pan into the sink.

A few moments of silence passed before she took a deep breath, “Luke, I need you and Hana to go pack your bags with about a week’s worth of clothes.”

The rapper clenched his fists, “What in the world are you talking about now?”

She sent a fiery gaze in his direction, “Just do it!”

Shocked, the boy took a step back.

His mom sighed, “Just trust me, and do as I say please.”

Although even more confused now than he was before, he still took Hana’s hand to lead her back to his bedroom. Together, they packed their bags as his mother instructed, still not saying a word to each other. Every time Luke looked at Hana, he wished he could talk to her or give her some sort of display of affection, but she didn’t seem to spare him even a single glance throughout the process.

Once all their things were together, the two of them carried their bags to the living room, where the mother was waiting for them.

“The taxi’s here; put your bags in his trunk.”

“Where are we going? Are you kicking us out?” Luke kept thinking he couldn’t possibly be more in the dark, but every moment that passed kept proving him wrong.

“No, just trust me please,” she whispered to him with a small smile, “Oh, and take this.”

She handed him a pink envelope as she pushed him out the door. Before long, the couple was riding inside the taxi, both unaware of where they were headed. The atmosphere was as heavy as ever.

After about a 20 minute drive, the taxi stopped in front of a large hotel, where the driver quickly unloaded their bags and drove away. It seemed Luke’s mother had already paid him.

“Excuse me,” a bellhop approached, “Are you Mr. Sizemore?”

Luke blinked before nodding his head, “Yes?”

“Right this way, please,” he smiled and took their belongings.

The man led the young couple to a room on the 6th floor, where he used a key card to enter. Hana looked in awe at the expensive-looking scenery that was inside the room. There was a glass chandelier, a velvet sofa, a large, flat-screen TV, and a sleek, steel mini-fridge. The bellhop placed their bags down and handed Luke the key. The rapper simply thanked him as he exited the room. Despite the lack of explanation, Luke was honestly tired of asking questions.

He glanced at Hana, who he caught staring at him. She tensed up once he spotted her gaze and turned to stare out the window instead. Luke sighed as he sat on one of the two queen-sized beds and pulled out the pink envelope. Left with no other leads, he opened it. Inside that letter was the key to unlocking the truth. His mother explained his father’s prejudices, how she didn’t want to support that side of him, how she wanted to Hana to have a nice visit, how she was sorry she didn’t have the courage to do more. It shed a lot of light onto the situation, but he still needed Hana to fill in the holes.

Luke turned to his girlfriend, whose eyes were still glued to the window. Slowly, he approached and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

“I think you should read this,” he whispered as he handed her the letter.

Hesitantly, she unfolded the crisp letter and began reading. By the time she finished, her tears had returned.

“Please tell me what happened…” he begged, holding her tighter against him.

All of a sudden, Hana plunged her face in Luke’s chest, engulfing him into an embrace. Although taken aback by the sudden movement, a wave of relief washed over him. He hated the distance he had felt between them all morning and was so glad to finally be able to reach her. Hana explained what she overheard last night, occasionally having to stop to release a sob. She revealed how his dad didn’t want “her kind” near him, how he wanted her gone by today, how his mother tried to defend her, how Hana didn’t want to be the reason for his family falling apart.

“Babe…” Luke stroked her hair soothingly, “You don’t have to worry about that.”

She shook her head, facing the ground, “B-but, he’ll never allow us to be together. I’m only going to get in the way of your family’s happiness.”

Upon hearing those words, he used both hands to hold her face and force her to look into his eyes, “Hana Mizuno, I don’t care what anyone says or thinks. You _are_ my happiness. I love you, and I want to be with you. I’m not going to let anyone stand in the way of that, unless it’s you, OK?”

Speechless, she gulped and nodded her head.

With a soft grin, he pulled her face towards his. They kissed gently, comforting Hana in a way she never would have thought possible earlier today. Luke knew his familial relationships might be strained when he returned home, but right now, all that mattered was that he was with the person he loved most, and this time, he would make sure not to let her go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who didn't read the chapter: The only thing that's important to know for the sake of continuity in the next chapter is that Hana came to visit Luke's house in the states, and his father did not approve of Hana due to her background, causing a strain in Luke's relationship with his father. No one gets physically hurt in the chapter.
> 
> I was actually inspired to write this after going to a large group discussion on the topic of "diversity." I got to hear a lot of stories from people of many different backgrounds and was floored at the extremities they faced due to oppression. Although I am of Asian descent, I am privileged to have not experienced any extreme oppression first-hand, but my heart goes out to those of you who may have experienced something of that nature. I guess this is just my general PSA to always be considerate of others and stand up for those who are being attacked for things they cannot control. I have a lot of faith in our younger generations when it comes to acceptance, and I've been ecstatic to see all the love and positivity going around throughout pride month; it's truly been liberating, so I hope the positive energy continues.
> 
> Anyhow, I apologize for getting somewhat political. We'll be back to our light-hearted fluff next chapter, OK?


	25. Yours

**Yours**

“Thanks for coming out to see me, man,” PBG grinned at Luke as they walked along the lake, “I honestly haven’t had many people to talk to.”

“No problem,” the rapper gave a thumbs-up, “it’s been the same for me, only really talking to the guys through voice chat.”

It was a pleasant day in July. Hana had flown back to Japan about two weeks ago, leaving Luke to spend the rest of his summer enjoying his hometown on his own. He spent most of his time playing games with the Hidden Block members online, going back to visit his favorite restaurants, and texting or calling Hana.

A lot of his time was also spent avoiding his dad. Both of them knew that the whole situation had been laid out on the table, but neither one dared to speak of it. Even when they ate dinner together, they all talked normally, not even mentioning Hana. Luke honestly liked it better that way. There was no way he was going to let his father attempt to dictate who he should date. His dad probably knew he felt that way, and although Luke’s father had some fucked up prejudices, he still loved his son. He likely didn’t want to risk damaging their relationship any further.

Within the last few days, PBG had contacted Luke about meeting up. Luckily, PBG didn’t live too far away from him, only about an hour and a half drive. Once Luke arrived at his friend’s place, the shaggy-haired boy welcomed him with open arms. They had rekindled their friendship back at Asagao, and it finally seemed like things were back to the way they used to be. They were currently walking around a park that was right outside PBG’s neighborhood.

“What have you been up to?” the rapper asked.

“Eh, not much,” PBG shrugged, “I practice at the local soccer field occasionally and play games too obviously… Oh! I went to _Seven Flags_ the other day!”

Luke’s eyes lit up, “Oh shit, didn’t they add a new roller coaster?”

“Yeah! It was super sweet!”

“Man, I should’ve taken Hana there-”

Luke’s throat tightened right after the words slipped out of his mouth. Ever since he and PBG had started talking again, the pink-haired girl was never brought into conversation. It was sort of an unspoken rule not to talk about her, but Luke just broke that rule to smithereens.

PBG licked his lips as he stared at the ground, “Oh, did Hana come to visit you?”

“Y-yeah,” the rapper rubbed the back of his neck, “She went back to Japan about 2 weeks ago.”

“I see…”

Silence lingered as an awkward tension encircled the two boys. Luke wished he could turn back time to avoid opening his big mouth, but it was too late.

“Hey man, there’s something I need to tell you,” PBG was the first to speak again.

“What’s that?” Luke asked, somewhat relieved but still nervous.

The soccer player chuckled shyly, “Actually, it’s more of a confession…”

After a deep breath, he continued, “I’ve kinda had a crush on Hana ever since she came to Asagao.”

“...oh.”

The rapper stared in front of him blankly, internally debating what the proper reaction to this should be. Should he pretend to be surprised? Should he look guilty? Should he go for the comforting route?

After pushing his debate to the side, he decided to just be truthful, “Honestly Peebs, I kinda knew already.”

PBG’s face flushed a deep red, “Wh-what? ...Oh my God, did Jeff tell you?”

Luke blinked a few times, “What? No, I could just kinda tell. I mean, you’d stare at her in class and at lunch, so I just put some pieces together.”

He sighed, “Was I that obvious?”

Luke chuckled, “I really don’t know, man. I can at least tell you that Hana didn’t seem to notice.”

“Well that’s good at least.”

The duo shared a small, awkward laugh, lightening the mood a bit.

“Anyway,” PBG continued, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for keeping that a secret, even if you figured it out yourself.”

Luke shook his head, “No, I’m sorry. Even though I knew you liked her, I couldn’t help but like her too. I felt really guilty for pursuing her, but I guess I was greedy and couldn’t help myself.”

The soccer star flashed a bright smile as he placed a hand on the rapper’s shoulder, “Nah, don’t feel that way dude. I will admit that I thought I hated you for a long time because of that, but I eventually realized that it really wasn’t your fault. Hana’s a great girl, and, even from the beginning, she only seemed to have eyes for you... she was always yours.”

Luke let his friend’s words sink in, one by one. Once it was all processed, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Dude, you have no idea,” the rapper grinned, “She was never mine. Hana’s always been a free spirit. She doesn’t really just stay in one place or let others make choices for her. I liked to believe I had a hold on her, but the truth is that she's always had the power to leave. Because of that, I was afraid that she’d find out you liked her and want to date you instead.”

PBG's mouth was agape, but before long, he went into a fit of laughter as well.

“Are you kidding? How was _I_ supposed to compete with _the_ Yungtown? You’re the best musician in the whole school.”

“How was _I_ supposed to compete with _the_ PBG? You’re our star soccer player, a popular radio show host, and one of the founders of the most popular club in school.”

PBG was at a loss for words. He seemed to be reflecting on his own accomplishments for the first time.

“See?” Luke gave him a firm pat on the back, “You’re cutting yourself too short.”

“Th-thanks…” the soccer player blushed, “but anyways, this whole conversation started because I ultimately wanted to tell you that I support you and Hana’s relationship 100%.”

The rapper smiled as they both did a bro hug, “Thanks, man. I really appreciate that.”

The boys kept walking around the park, moving on to a variety of different topics before heading over to the soccer field to play a few rounds. This hangout session was different than their previous ones. It was open and liberating. For the first time, they both truly felt like they could be themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More Buttertown! uwu  
> Kind of felt like I needed to close off this whole PBG vs Luke arc, and this is what came out of it. Hope it wasn't too corny lol.


	26. Zero

**Zero**

“Hello?”

Hana slowly walked into the empty Hidden Block club room, glancing in all directions for any signs of life.

“Luke?”

No response. Puzzled, she checked her phone again.

 **_Luke_ ** **💖** **_:_ ** _Let’s meet at the HB clubroom at 6!_

She checked the time. It was 6:01. He was probably just running a few minutes behind.

The pink-haired girl walked aimlessly around the room, just glancing at various things and picking up trash wherever she found it. Summer break was over, and school had been back in session for almost a month now. Everything still seemed mostly the same. The members of Hidden Block truly didn’t change, but honestly, Hana felt like a whole new person since she first came to Asagao. She was stronger and happier than ever before.

Suddenly, she noticed a piece of notebook paper folded on top of the desk she usually sat in. However, before she could properly dispose of it, her curiosity got the best of her. She glanced around the room once more to make sure she wasn’t being watched before unfolding the paper and reading it. To her own surprise, it was actually written to her.

_Dear Hana,_

_If I truly made a list of everything I loved about you, I don’t think I’d ever be able to stop writing._

With a blush, Hana grinned. She could recognize Luke’s handwriting anywhere.

_So I guess I’ll just have to pick 10 of them._

  1. _I love how you’re always so nice to be around, even just sitting near you in_ ** _class_** _makes my day so much better._



After checking that no one was around one more time, she made a tiny squeal into the paper, but when she excitedly went back to read more, her smile dropped. The rest of the paper was empty; there was only one line item on here. Did he forget to finish writing it? Hana flipped the paper around to see the blank side before flipping it back around to read it again. This time she took note of how the word “class” was highlighted.

Wait… could this be what she thought it was?

Bursting with curiosity, she headed over to their everyday classroom, where she was pleasantly surprised with another piece of paper on her usual desk. Without hesitation, she opened it.

  1. _I love the adorable faces you make when you eat something you really like at_ ** _lunch_** _._



Hana giggled before racing over to the cafeteria to find another note on the Hidden Block table.

  1. _I love how supportive you are of my_ ** _music_** _, even when it’s really bad._



Before long, she found her next note on top of some equipment in the recording studio.

  1. _I love your smile; it shines brighter than any star I’ve seen on_ ** _stage_** _._



Still overflowing with energy, she happily hopped onto the theater stage to pick up the following note.

  1. _I love how you’re always honest and patient with me, even when I have a lot of problems to_ ** _work out_** _._



This one took a little more thinking, but Hana was relieved to see her suspicions confirmed as she plucked the next note off the entrance to Asagao’s gym.

  1. _I love how you’re close with my roommate. It makes inviting you over to_ ** _my place_** _so much easier!_



She couldn’t help but giggle at the little sticky note attached to the next letter, which read “for the record, I’m not involved in this” scrawled in Ian’s handwriting. She took the letter off the door.

  1. _I love how beautiful you look in the sunlight, especially when we sit in our_ ** _favorite spot_** _._



This riddle was solved on almost pure instinct. Hana eagerly jumped up to grab the next note that was tucked into the branch of their favorite tree.

  1. _I love the way you hold onto me while we watch movies in_ ** _your room_** _._



Luckily, Mai hadn’t returned from volleyball practice because she surely would have read the note taped onto their room door and teased Hana about it for the next century.

  1. _I love how you can make friends with anybody, even our_ ** _enemies_** _._



The girl snorted at the thought of Normal Boots being their enemies. Although that was sort of the point of their clubs, they all hung out fairly regularly and felt like family. With a large grin, Hana took the last note off the door to the Normal Boots club room.

 __    1.  _I love the fact that I got to meet you. I never knew I could be so happy._

_You’re almost done. Just go back to **the place where this all began** ._

With her heart already feeling like it was about to explode, she walked a few steps over to the Hidden Block club room and entered the door once again. However, as soon as she looked inside, her mouth hung open. The typical clubroom she just saw earlier had been transformed into a romantic paradise with small, lit candles on every windowsill alongside a rose on every desk. Fairy lights were strung onto the walls and the teacher’s desk. The words “Happy Anniversary!” were written on the chalkboard. The best part, however, was the guy sitting on top of his usual desk, wearing his brightest, most precious smile Hana had ever seen. He was wearing his usual school uniform, but he had the number “0” written on a piece of paper taped onto his chest. Furthermore, he held a small, pink teddy bear in one hand and a mini box of chocolates in the other. His cheeks were slightly pink as he started walking towards her.

“I still don’t know why a 10 like you would want to date a 0 like me,” he said, his smile never leaving his face, “but I’m thankful for that everyday.”

Hana opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

“Before you say anything,” he put the gifts in his hands down onto the desk beside them before wrapping his arms around her waist, “I want you to know that the notes you read today only scratch the surface of how much I love you.”

He kissed her lips for a brief second, "Now that we’ve been together for a whole year, I know that I want this to only scratch the surface of how long we’ll be together too.”

As he pulled her into an embrace, Hana truly felt like she was in a dream. Luke had always been a romantic, but he somehow found new ways to make her heart flutter. She always felt safe and secure when he was around. Back when she was taking her first steps into the school, she felt so lost and afraid, but now she had the confidence to smile brightly and live more in the moment. It was all because of Luke that she was able to truly be happy again after going through such hard times back at home.

Before she even realized it, tears were flowing down her face, and a small whimper escaped her lips, making the rapper jump.

“Oh my God, babe, a-are you crying? Did I say something stupid? I said something stupid, didn’t I? I’m so sorry!” he instantly went to panic mode, bending down to wipe tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.

Despite the unstoppable avalanche of tears streaming down her face, Hana couldn’t help but giggle, “N-no, Luke! I just… I just love you. I love you so much!”

Speaking her mind only made her cry harder, which left the boy highly confused, but he was still happy to hear her words. He took his weeping girlfriend into his arms and kissed the top of her head, giving a small smile as she returned the embrace. After taking about a minute to recompose herself, Hana released him and spoke again.

“Luke,” she sniffled as she looked him in the eyes, “You seriously don’t know how amazing you are. You’re always so thoughtful and caring. You think of such creative things to do for me and always take care of me when I need it. You always give me a reason to smile everyday, and I can say with complete confidence that you’ve changed my life for the better.”

The rapper was in awe, completely taken aback by her speech, but before his brain could even process how to respond, she took the piece of paper off his chest and put it on her own.

“Hate to break it to you,” she grinned, her tear-stained cheeks glistening, “but you’re the 10 that’s dating a 0.”

Luke felt his chest tighten. He quickly kissed her cheek before grabbing a marker off one of the desks.

“Here, lemme fix that.”

He drew a “1” in front of the “0” on the paper. Hana gasped playfully.

“No! Now you have to put it back on,” she attempted to stick the paper back onto him, but he just laughed and held her hand back by her wrist.

“Nope, it’s on its rightful place!” he retorted.

The couple laughed as they had a mini-war of trying to stick the piece of paper onto each other. Eventually, the rapper came up with an idea.

“How about this?” he said as he stuck the top part of the note on Hana’s shoulder and the bottom part onto his own shoulder, “Now we’re both 10s!”

“But now we can’t move away from each other,” she explained, their shoulders pressed closely together.

“Exactly!” he smiled brightly, “There’s no downsides!”

The pink-haired girl laughed before planting another kiss onto his lips.

“Happy anniversary, babe. I hope there'll be many more after this,” Luke spoke softly as they pulled away.

“I’m already planning the next one,” Hana grinned as she leaned in once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so crazy to think that this collection of drabbles is finally over ;~; (but I seriously love looking at all the chapters in alphabetical order like wow aesthetic)
> 
> Thank you all for joining me on this crazy ride and for supporting the junk I write lmao. It's been a lot of fun, but I'm excited to get started on another story: this time with an actual plot!  
> Until then, I hope you all are happy, healthy, and everything in between!


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